The EU Council and European Parliament said Dec. 18 they had reached agreement in principle on legislation tightening restrictions on the authorization and use of pesticides in the European Union. Tne deal paves the way for evaluation of pesticides using hazard, rather than risk, criteria, meaning a number of chemical substances used in pesticides could effectively be banned. In particular, the legislation would put a question mark over the ongoing use of substances that are endocrine-disrupting, genotoxic, carcinogenic, or toxic to reproduction, unless it can be shown that their use is essential in particular cases.
展开▼
