Methyl Bromide
June 2005
The methyl bromide ban finally came into place on January 1st 2005 throughout the EU and all other “developed countries”; however the ban does not apply to “developing countries” until 2015.
However methyl bromide can continue to be used in the EU and developed countries in certain circumstances:
- Where a Critical Use Exemption (CUE) has been granted
- Where it is required for Quarantine and pre-shipment (QPS) use
- In some circumstances, for previously approved applications, methyl bromide stocks that were held at the end of 2004, can be used up during 2005
- Unforeseen Emergency Use – by making an application to your relevant government department (eg. DEFRA in the UK)
The EU Commission decided to review the CUE’s granted during 2004 by the internationally agreed Montreal Protocol process. They either reduced the allocated amounts, or, in some cases, refused to accept them at all. It was not until March 2005 that the final decisions and requirements of the EU Commission were made known and these requirements are displayed on the Commission web-site: “http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/ozone/ods.htm” under “Guide to Fumigators”.
This Commission Guide makes it clear that any unallocated stock held at the end of 2004 should only be used up during 2005 for treatments that are not covered by a CUE.
In 2006 no stocks will be permitted to be used.The process of assessing the CUE applications for 2006 is now well under way and the UNEP Technical Options Committee held a meeting, in April 2005, in Buenos Aires, to process the applications which are due to be finalised at a further meeting in Australia in August/September 2005. It is hoped that all parties involved will agree to any allocations for 2006 being finalised well before the end of 2005 so that industry is able to make appropriate plans well in advance. Any applications for 2007 CUE’s should be made to your relevant government department by August 2005. It should be remembered that methyl bromide is in the process of being completely phased out and alternatives are either available now or are becoming available to cover all uses.
For further details about these developments you can visit www.igrox.co.uk or email or call Chris Watson at Igrox on 0800 214501
EMERGENCY USE
"Emergency Use" is a category of use that will be allowed after Methyl Bromide is phased out where an applicant can demonstrate that an unforeseen emergency situation has occurred. The theory is that your government department (DEFRA in the UK) will be able to give a rapid decision to allow a specified amount of Methyl Bromide to be used to deal with the "emergency".
However DEFRA have recently made it very clear to industry representatives that this will not be allowed in situations that could have been foreseen, and / or where there are alternatives that can resolve the problem even if they are much more expensive and time consuming. Therefore, for example, a food related business, which has not applied for a Critical Use Exemption for using Methyl Bromide, is not likely to obtain an Emergency Use Exemption for Methyl Bromide even if it has a very bad infestation outbreak. The organisation is likely to be told that they could have foreseen an outbreak of infestation at some point and should have had in position their own plan to deal with the situation that did not rely on Methyl Bromide. If they were intending to rely on Methyl Bromide to deal with the outbreak they would have been expected to have applied for a Critical Use Exemption.
Ultimately the most effective preventative strategy is to practice good hygiene, undertake regular pest control inspections and use effective monitoring equipment (Floor Traps, PC Pitfall Traps and Dome Traps), to help keep infestations out of the finished product.
