Prohibited and non-approved active substances

Background

EU legislation (particularly Council Directive 79/117/EEC) previously prohibited (sometimes known as "banned") the placing on the market and use of plant protection products containing certain active substances which, even if applied in an authorised manner, could give rise to harmful effects on human health or the environment.

From 14 June 2011, the marketing of plant protection products in the EU has been subject to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. The Regulation prohibits use of any active substances in plant protection products unless they have been approved for that purpose in accordance with the Regulation. This general prohibition rendered Council Directive 79/117/EEC superfluous and the Directive was therefore repealed, also from 14 June 2011.

This now continues under Regulation (EC) 1107/2009 and information can be found in this list of active substances approved in Great Britain.

A number of active substances remain specifically prohibited by Regulation (EC) 850/2004 as persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

Withdrawn active substances

Large numbers of substances have been withdrawn following reviews and renewal. This may be for reasons of safety or because companies took commercial decisions not to support substances through the review or renewal process. National reviews have been conducted in the UK in the past, but this work was in recent years co-ordinated at EU level under Council Directive 91/414/EEC and Regulation 1107/2009. However, a GB renewal programme now takes place as set out in Regulation (EC) 1107/2009.