Picture posting is enabled for all :)
Another article:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/business/2097718.stm I'd like more detail. Presumably wasn't a herbicide since they refer to pesticide but what was it? Was anyone ill as a result? Bear in mind a lot of people on this site have been complaining about the banning of derris - was it a similar situation?
I'd like more detail. Presumably wasn't a herbicide since they refer to pesticide but what was it? Was anyone ill as a result? Bear in mind a lot of people on this site have been complaining about the banning of derris - was it a similar situation?
FARMER USED NERVE AGENT PESTICIDE ON SUPERMARKET SWEET CORNJune 4, 1999PA NewsVanessa AllenOne of Britain's biggest sweetcorn farmers was cited as admitting today toillegally using pesticides on crops he sold to supermarket giant Tesco andother retailers.Colin Boswell sprayed Liquid Gaucho, Aztec and Capsolane--none of which isapproved for such use--on crops at his 850-acre farm on the Isle of Wight,magistrates at Portsmouth were told.He also used the nerve agent organo-phosphate pesticide Metaphor, beforeit was licensed for use, said Mr Charles Gilby, for the Health and SafetyExecutive.A Health and Safety Executive spokesman said outside the court thatMetaphor--which works by destroying the nervous systems of insects--wasrated as being hazardous to human health.Mr Gilby told the court that Boswell used Metaphor in 1997 to rid hiscrops of an aphid infestation which would have ruined the harvest, makingit unsaleable for human consumption.
A farmer was convicted on eleven counts involving widespread misuse ofpesticides. Work was carried out which was liable to expose employees,including crop pickers, to a substance hazardous to health. An insecticidewas applied to sweetcorn for human consumption although it was notapproved for that use. Pesticide sprayers were not given adequateinformation to protect their own health and safety. The Crown Court imposeda total fine of £220,000 plus £16,862 costs.
The level of a fine will reflect a number of factors, including the seriousness of the offence, any aggravating or mitigating factors, and the offender’s ability to pay, which the courts must take into account..................In total, in agriculture and forestry, inspectors issued 1644 enforcement notices and secured convictions for 103 separate offences. The average fine for all offences in this sector rose to £3780, more than double the previous year’s average. Of particular note was HSE’s conviction of a farmer on the Isle of Wight on eleven charges relating to the misuse of pesticides; seven under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985, and four under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994 (as amended). Committed to the Crown court for sentence, the defendant was fined a record £220 000.