Environmental guidance for your business in Northern Ireland & Scotland
You should know how to deal with incidents involving pesticides or biocides. Incidents include:
If you use pesticides and biocides as part of your job you must be trained in emergency procedures. Your emergency action plans should be kept up to date to cover new equipment or new ways of working. Many product labels will have specific advice on what to do if there is an incident. This information is always on the manufacturer's safety data sheet, which you should be able to get when you buy the product.
Make sure that your staff are familiar with emergency procedures and know how to implement them. If you store lots of pesticides or biocides, for example if you have a warehouse, you may need to install a spill alarm so that you can evacuate the building if there is an incident.
You should ensure that you have a spill kit close to where you might need it. Your spill kit should contain absorbent materials such as sand or cat litter, and other containment equipment suitable for the type and quantity of pesticides and biocides you store and use on your site.
Try to prevent liquid spills from entering drains or watercourses. For example, use earth to block the flow of large spills, or use sand or a commercial spill kit to soak them up.
You should never hose down a spill, as you could cause a much worse pollution incident. If you store pesticides or biocides in a vehicle, you should also carry a suitable spill kit.
You should store all pesticides and biocides in an area where you can contain spills. This should be on or within a secondary containment system such as:
Water pollution can be classed as environmental damage in some circumstances. You must prevent and remedy environmental damage that occurs from water pollution or land contamination caused by your business activities. If anyone else reports environmental damage as a result of your activities, an enforcing authority will have to investigate.
You should report any pollution incidents as soon as they happen to the UK wide Pollution Hotline on Tel 0800 80 70 60.
If you suspect that your health has been adversely affected by pesticides or biocides, you should report it to:
Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland (HSENI): Report an incident
HSENI: Notification of pesticides incidents (PDF, 161K)
Healthy Working Lives (Scotland): Recording and reporting an incident
If you suspect wildlife has been harmed by an incident involving pesticides or biocides, you should call the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS) Helpline on Tel 0800 321 600.
Wildlife Incidents Investigation Scheme
What are pesticides and biocides and who uses them?
Supplying pesticides and biocides
Approved pesticide and biocide products and qualifications
Controls on applying pesticides and biocides
Applying pesticides and biocides
Good practice for using pesticides and biocides
Import, supply and sale - Getting approval for pesticides and biocides
Disposing of pesticides and biocides
Dealing with pesticide and biocide spills
Groundwater in Northern Ireland, DAERA have produced a leaflet to raise awareness about this untapped resource
EU Exit, EU Exit useful information
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