Pesticides - Do you check?

Do you check?

Press Release

Who is breaking the law?

When you put work out to tender do you check the qualifications of the successful contractor? Have ALL his staff obtained the necessary qualifications?

It is a legal requirement for all operatives spraying Professional Pesticides to have the necessary NPTC qualification (PA1, PA6, etc) for the equipment they are using.

Who is selling/supplying the pesticide? If it is the contractor, have you checked that they have a BASIS Certificate in Crop Protection covering Amenity? Someone MUST have this qualification in order to sell/supply the product to you even if that is part of the contracting service and sprayed by him. Someone is responsible for giving advice on the choice of product, rate of use and timing of application. If he has a store, does his storekeeper have the statutory NSK qualification, also required by law for storage of Professional Pesticides?

If the contractor does not have these qualifications he may be prosecuted. How does YOUR insurance company feel about the use of illegal operatives using spraying equipment if something goes wrong?

What if someone's garden is sprayed by mistake, or someone's pet dies or is ill after spraying grass verges or playing fields? The public do not understand pesticides and spurious litigation is not uncommon.

"Some contractors are known to use unskilled, untrained and dangerously uninformed operatives for some contracts", commented Rob Simpson, Managing Director of BASIS, "Especially those which they have won 'on price'. Is your contractor insured to use spraying equipment in a public place? Do you check that his insurance policy covers the work you have contracted him to do? If not, how does your own insurance stand?"

He went on to say, "Everyone has a duty, under the current regulations, to ensure pesticides are used safely with regard to people, animals, plants and the environment. It is unlikely that untrained operatives are even aware of their obligations under the law."

If you use a BACCS contractor you can be assured that rigorous checks have been made regarding H&S, qualifications of staff, training, and crucially an on-site assessment of their ability to conduct the spraying operation successfully and within the law.

BASIS is an independent registration scheme for the Pesticide industry.

BACCS is a BASIS scheme, administered and assessed by BASIS to help raise standards for the contract application of pesticides in the Amenity sector of our industry.

The BACCS scheme can now offer guidance to Local Authorities about the size of contract that each contractor is capable of tackling. Enquiries about BACCS should be directed to BASIS (Registration) Ltd; 34 St John St; Ashbourne; DE6 1GH or Lindsay@basis-reg.co.uk