2007/356/EC: Commission Decision of 21 May 2007 concerning the non-inclusion of trichlorfon in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC and the withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing that substance (notified under document number C(2007) 2096) (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2007-05-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: dangerous substance, marketing, pesticide, pharmaceutical product, plant health control, plant health legislation, plant health product, withdrawal from the market

L 133/42

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

25.5.2007

COMMISSION DECISION

of 21 May 2007

concerning the non-inclusion of trichlorfon in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC and the
withdrawal of authorisations for plant protection products containing that substance

(notified under document number C(2007) 2096)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/356/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

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
fourth subparagraph of
Article 8(2) thereof,

the

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Article 8(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC provides that a
Member State may, during a period of 12 years
that Directive, authorise
following the notification of
the placing on the market of plant protection products
containing active substances not listed in Annex I of 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.

Commission Regulations (EC) No 451/2000 (2) and (EC)
No 703/2001 (3)
lay down the detailed rules for the
implementation of the second 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
includes
trichlorfon.

to Directive 91/414/EEC. That

list

For trichlorfon 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 703/2001 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 recommendations to
the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in accordance

(4)

(5)

(6)

with Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 451/2000. For
trichlorfon the Rapporteur Member State was Spain and
all relevant information was submitted on 23 August
2004.

The assessment report has been peer reviewed by the
Member States and the EFSA within its Working Group
Evaluation and presented to the Commission on 12 May
2006 in the format of the EFSA Conclusion regarding
the peer review of the pesticide risk assessment of the
active substance trichlorfon (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 29 September 2006 in
for
the
trichlorfon.

the Commission review report

format of

Due to significant lack of supporting studies, it has not
been possible to demonstrate a safe use of the substance.
Based on the available information it was not possible to
perform the risk assessment of consumers, operators,
the
and
workers
evaluation of
the substance in
the environment was limited and its eco-toxicological
properties were not completely assessed.

fate and behaviour of

exposure. Moreover,

bystanders

advanced,

to submit

The Commission invited the notifier
its
comments within four weeks 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
remained
arguments
the
the
unsolved, and assessments made on the basis of
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 trichlorfon satisfy
in general the requirements laid down in Article 5(1)(a)
and (b) of Directive 91/414/EEC.

concerns

above

(1) OJ L 230, 19.8.1991, p. 1. Directive as

last amended by

Commission Directive 2007/25/EC (OJ L 106, 24.4.2007, p. 34).
(2) OJ L 55, 29.2.2000, p. 25. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1044/2003 (OJ L 151, 19.6.2003, p. 32).

(3) OJ L 98, 7.4.2001, p. 6.

(7)

Trichlorfon should therefore not be included in Annex I
to Directive 91/414/EEC.

(4) EFSA Scientific Report (2006) 76, 1-62, ‘Conclusion on the peer review

of trichlorfon’.

25.5.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 133/43

(8)

(9)

(10)

(11)

for

plant

Measures should be taken to ensure that existing author-
isations
containing
trichlorfon are withdrawn within a prescribed period
and are not renewed and that no new authorisations
for such products are granted.

protection products

Any period of grace for disposal, storage, placing on the
market and use of existing stocks of plant protection
products containing trichlorfon allowed by Member
States, should be limited to a period no longer than
twelve months to allow existing stocks to be used in
no more than one further growing season.

Article 2

Member States shall ensure that:

(a) authorisations

for plant protection products containing

trichlorfon are withdrawn by 21 November 2007;

(b) from 25 May 2007 no authorisations for plant protection
products containing trichlorfon are granted or renewed
in Article 8(2) of
under
Directive 91/414/EEC.

the derogation provided for

Article 3

This Decision does not prejudice the submission of an
application for trichlorfon according to the provisions of
Article 6(2) of Directive 91/414/EEC in view of a
possible inclusion in its Annex I.

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 not later than
21 November 2008.

The measures provided for
accordance with
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

in this Decision are in
Standing
the

opinion

the

of

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Done at Brussels, 21 May 2007.

Article 1

Trichlorfon shall not be included as active substance in Annex I
to Directive 91/414/EEC.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission