Labour East Midlands

Working hard for the people of the East Midlands

MEP welcomes action for a safer East Midlands

Glenis Willmott has welcomed new Euro-wide action aimed at protecting human health and the environment, agreed by MEPs last week in the European Parliament.

“All parts of Europe, from Nottingham to Nantes, will be safer as a result of these new rules” said the East Midlands Euro MP.

“Biocides" - ranging from rat poisons to disinfectants - will now be subject to tougher safety checks, following a vote in Strasbourg on Thursday.   The updated rules aim to better protect human health and the environment, while streamlining the process of bringing new products on to the market.

Mrs Willmott, a member of the Environment and Public Health Committee responsible for the detailed discussion of the package, said: “We believe we have found the right balance to improve both safety checks and the approval process.  As a consequence we will all have access to new pest control products that are safe and effective.

“We’ve closed certain loopholes that existed before, have banned carcinogenic and other dangerous substances, and recognised possible new threats caused by, for example, the use of nanotechnology.”