Comment
Sellers are not required to check the actual certificate that the purchaser (or intended user) holds, but they should remind customers of their obligations, by whatever means they feel is appropriate
professional pesticides is solely responsible, who on earth polices the use, and how on earth could they possibly police it? Our Training team come across this time and time again when dealing with enquiries about Safe Use of Pesticides (PA) courses that are offered by Groundsman Training. In response to my colleague’s assurances that it will be illegal to spray pesticides without a licence as of 26th November, when “Grandfather rights” are removed, one enquirer asked her: “Who’s going to find me? If you are driving uninsured, the police get you. If I use these chemicals without a licence, who’s going to stop me?” A question which we couldn’t
answer then and, after four months of enquiries, still can’t answer. So, what happens when an incident
occurs? Well, then it is a different story. There seems to be clear instructions for incident-reporting, including if people have been affected, water sources contaminated, the wildlife or the environment damaged. Unfortunately, this means that something has already happened. This would inevitably lead to the blame being shifted around the various “regulatory bodies”, and the usual scapegoating occurring, leading to reactive legislation rather than taking proactive steps towards regulation. When it becomes common knowledge that
we can all get away with buying professional pesticides and doing what we will with them, we suspect there will be a significant increase in the irresponsible selling of these chemicals. We only need to look to Ebay and Amazon to find how easy it is to purchase professional products for any domestic user. Vicki Wall, Spray CDA and External Sales Manager at ALS, says,
“There seems to be no stem in the flood of illegal and unregulated products which are very easy to get hold of.” While searching weed killer on Amazon, of the first fifteen products which came up, she found that eight were professional products and one was sodium chlorate. Not only that, but the suppliers of the chemicals were answering evidently domestic questions, by advising that the customer use Kurtail for Marestail
control, for example. The lack of enforcement and clear
instructions for the selling and use of pesticides, from the manufacturers to the
44 I PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016 ”
distributors, to the individual or company that ends up with the pesticide, leads to a total lack of responsibility which is, quite frankly, extremely worrying. It means that anybody and everybody can flout the “regulations” and sell whatever they like to whomever they like. So, how can we begin to rectify the
problem that, if an incident occurs, could cause a not-so-friendly spotlight to be directed at our industry? An industry wide approach, encompassing all the major manufacturers, the suppliers, and the regulatory and advisory bodies seems like a plan. Clearer legislation regarding the distribution and sale of the chemicals would be a good starting block. If we can react to the incidents that occur as a result of the misuse of pesticides, surely we can prevent the chemicals ever reaching the individuals not qualified to use them. Now that Grandfather rights have been made defunct, why can’t we increase responsibility even more, and make sure that the suppliers are 100% sure that their customers have the correct certification? As well as this, the manufacturers should take responsibility for who they are selling their products to. Although our extremely frustrating
attempt at reporting a worrying case of mis- selling of pesticides would put many people off, we will be keeping a close eye on what is happening with regards to the legislation, and will continue to investigate the matter. Meanwhile, I will continue to check the website in question daily, to see if anyone has come to their senses.
“
Who’s going to find me? If you are driving uninsured, the police get you. If I use these chemicals without a licence, who’s going to stop me?
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