II 
(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory)  
DECISIONS  
COMMISSION  
COMMISSION DECISION  
of 23 September 2009  
concerning the non-inclusion of chlorthal-dimethyl in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC and 
the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing that substance  
(notified under document C(2009) 6431)  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
(2009/715/EC)  
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,  
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Community,  
Having regard to Council Directive 91/414/EEC of 15 July 
1991 concerning the placing of plant protection products on 
the market (  1 ), and in particular the fourth subparagraph of 
Article 8(2) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC provides that a 
Member State may, during a period of 12 years 
following the notification of that Directive, authorise 
the placing on the market of plant protection products 
containing active substances not listed in Annex I to that 
Directive that are already on the market two years after 
the date of notification, while those substances are 
gradually being examined within the framework of a 
programme of work.  
(2) Commission Regulations (EC) No 451/2000 (  2 ) and (EC) 
No 1490/2002 (  3 ) lay down the detailed rules for the 
implementation of the third stage of the programme of 
work referred to in Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC 
and establish a list of active substances to be assessed 
with a view to their possible inclusion in Annex I to 
Directive 91/414/EEC. That list includes chlorthal- 
dimethyl.  (3) For chlorthal-dimethyl the effects on human health and 
the environment have been assessed in accordance with 
the provisions laid down in Regulations (EC) No 
451/2000 and (EC) No 1490/2002 for a range of uses 
proposed by the notifier. Moreover, those Regulations 
designate the rapporteur Member States which have to 
submit the relevant assessment reports and recommen ­
dations to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 
accordance with Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 
1490/2002. For chlorthal-dimethyl the rapporteur 
Member State was Greece and all relevant information 
was submitted on 31 October 2006. An addendum was 
submitted on 3 April 2008.  
(4) The assessment report has been peer reviewed by the 
Member States and the EFSA. In accordance with 
Article 11c of Regulation (EC) No 1490/2002 the peer 
review focused on the following points, the toxicity, the 
relevance of the metabolite MPA and its possible leaching 
to groundwater. The EFSA presented it to the 
Commission on 4 September 2008, re-issued on 
26 November 2008, in the format of the EFSA 
conclusion regarding the focused peer review of the 
pesticide risk assessment of the active substance 
chlorthal-dimethyl (  4 ). This report has been reviewed by 
the Member States and the Commission within the 
Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal 
Health and finalised on 12 June 2009 in the format of 
the Commission review report for chlorthal-dimethyl.EN 24.9.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 251/31  
( 1 ) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1.  
( 2 ) OJ L 55, 29.2.2000, p. 25.  
( 3 ) OJ L 224, 21.8.2002, p. 23.  ( 4 ) EFSA Scientific Report (2008), 156. Conclusion regarding the focused peer 
review of the pesticide risk assessment of the active substance chlorthal- 
dimethyl (finalised 4 September 2008 and re-issued on 26 November 
2008 .)(5) During the evaluation of this active substance it was 
found that its metabolite MPA leaches to groundwater. 
On the basis of the information available, it cannot be 
concluded that it may be expected that the plant 
protection products containing that active substance 
fulfil the conditions provided for in Article 5(1) of 
Directive 91/414/EEC, in particular as regards toxico ­
logical significance of that metabolite.  
(6) The Commission invited the notifier to submit its 
comments on the results of the peer review and on its 
intention or not to further support the substance. The 
notifier submitted its comments which have been 
carefully examined. However, despite the arguments put 
forward by the notifier, the concerns identified could not 
be eliminated, and assessments made on the basis of the 
information submitted and evaluated during the EFSA 
expert meetings have not demonstrated that it may be 
expected that, under the proposed conditions of use, 
plant protection products containing chlorthal-dimethyl 
satisfy in general the requirements laid down in 
Article 5(1)(a) and (b) of Directive 91/414/EEC.  
(7) Chlorthal-dimethyl should therefore not be included in 
Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC.  
(8) Measures should be taken to ensure that authorisations 
granted for plant protection products containing 
chlorthal-dimethyl are withdrawn within a fixed period 
of time and are not renewed and that no new authori ­
sations for such products are granted.  
(9) Any period of grace granted by a Member State for the 
disposal, storage, placing on the market and use of 
existing stocks of plant protection products containing 
chlorthal-dimethyl should be limited to twelve months in 
order to allow existing stocks to be used in one further 
growing season, which ensures that plant protection 
products containing chlorthal-dimethyl remain available 
to farmers for 18 months from the adoption of this 
Decision.  
(10) This Decision does not prejudice the submission of an 
application for chlorthal-dimethyl according to the 
provisions of Article 6(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC, the 
detailed implementation rules of which have been laid 
down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 33/2008 of 
17 January 2008 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Directive 91/414/EEC as regards a 
regular and an accelerated procedure for the assessment 
of active substances which were part of the programme 
of work referred to in Article 8(2) of that Directive but 
have not been included into its Annex I (  1 ), in view of a 
possible inclusion in its Annex I.  
(11) The measures provided for in this Decision are in 
accordance with the opinion of the Standing 
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  
Article 1  
Chlorthal-dimethyl shall not be included as active substance in 
Annex I to Directive 91/414/EEC.  
Article 2  
Member States shall ensure that:  
(a) authorisations for plant protection products containing 
chlorthal-dimethyl are withdrawn by 23 March 2010;  
(b) no authorisations for plant protection products containing 
chlorthal-dimethyl are granted or renewed from the date of 
publication of this Decision.  
Article 3  
Any period of grace granted by Member States in accordance 
with the provisions of Article 4(6) of Directive 91/414/EEC, 
shall be as short as possible and shall expire on 23 March 
2011 at the latest.  
Article 4  
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.  
Done at Brussels, 23 September 2009.  
For the Commission  
Androulla VASSILIOU  
Member of the CommissionEN L 251/32 Official Journal of the European Union 24.9.2009  
( 1 ) OJ L 15, 18.1.2008, p. 5.