Getting pesticide information from regulators
1 June 2004

What documents are available?

There are thousands of scientific studies submitted by industry to regulators around the world for pesticide approvals.

You have a legal right to see this information.

In Europe, different member states (known as the 'Rapporteur') are responsible for approving different pesticide products. To find out which European Countries are Rapporteurs for different active substances, follow the links below:

You can also write to the regulator and ask them what studies they hold on different products. Some regulators (such as PCS in Ireland) have very helpful websites that allow you to see which pesticide products they are responsible for.

Which regulators will release information to me?

Some countries such as Sweden and the USA have particularly liberal freedom of information laws and it is often possible to get hold of information there that you cannot get in the UK.

For pesticide data Friends of the Earth found that the best countries to approach were Sweden, Denmark, USA and Ireland.

Our guide to requesting information from regulators

  1. Check with UK regulators first before you go overseas. Ask for the information under the Environmental Information Regulations 1992.
  2. Remember - regulators are busy people often working in understaffed and underfunded offices. Please don't waste their time. Your request will receive a quicker and more helpful response if you are very clear about exactly what documents you want to see.
  3. Be clear about what product or substance you are interested in.

  4. Ask the regulator for a list of the documents they hold on a particular substance or product.

  5. Only ask for the main text of the reports to be sent to you without all of the attached data. This will save paper and money.

  6. Ask for details of cost before the documents are sent to you as some of the documents contain hundreds or even thousands of pages of data.

List of regulators

United Kingdom

Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD)
Mallard House
Kings Pool
3 Peasholme Green
York , YO1 7PX
UK
Tel: + 44 (0) 1904 640500 / (0)1904 455775
Fax:+ 44 (0) 1904 455733
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.pesticides.gov.uk/

Sweden

The Swedish Chemical Inspectorate [KEMI]
PO Box 2
SE-172 13 Sundbyderg
Tel. +46 8519 41100
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.kemi.se/default.aspx?id=550

Ireland

Pesticide Control Service
Department of Agriculture and Food
Abbotstown, Dublin 15
Tel: + (01) 6072655
Web: www.agriculture.gov.ie/home.jsp

Denmark

Danish Environmental Protection Agency [DEPA]
29 Strandgade
DK-1401København K
Denmark
Tel: +45 32 66 01 00
Fax: +45 32 66 04 79
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mst.dk/homepage/

United States

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington , DC 20460
Tel. +1(202) 272-0167
Web: http://www.epa.gov/

Agency Freedom of Information Office

Bayer have asked us to put the notice below on our website when mentioning these reports. If you want to know what it means - give Bayer a call on 01223 870312 or email [email protected] and ask them.

Please note that the owner of the data retains proprietary rights in respect of information contained in documents obtained from regulatory authorities which also may be subject to copyright protection and other intellectual property rights (including the protection of confidential information). Making further copies, distributing or publishing the documents whether for commercial purposes or otherwise, or permitting or assisting any third party to do so, outside the terms of relevant national legislation (being the national legislation of the country in which the copy documents have been obtained or received) may give rise to criminal or civil liability.