FRIENDS OF THE EARTH: Genetic polluters escape legal
action
OTC 16.10.98 21:00
OCT 16, 1998, M2 Communications - Shambolic failures at the
Health and Safety Executive mean that genetic polluters are
escaping legal action, Friends of the Earth reveals today.
Official inspections of genetically- modified crop test sites are
"inadequate, secretive and ineffective", FOE has
concluded. And genetic pollution is almost certainly being
illegally released - unmonitored - into the environment.
The evidence comes in a letter to Friends of the Earth from the
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) - which carries out inspections
of GM trial sites on behalf of the Government [1]. FOE requested
key information on monitoring and enforcement of GM test sites
under the Environmental Information Regulations 1992.
The HSE's reply shows that [2]:
-- one in ten of the sites monitored so far this year have
breached consents [3];
-- most GM sites are not monitored. Last year only just over one
third of licensed sites were checked by HSE Inspectors [4];
-- HSE do not know how many breaches there have been in recent
years because they don't have the relevant information;
-- no company has yet been prosecuted for illegally breaching a
consent to hold a crop trial; and
-- the HSE is refusing to say on which sites its Inspectors
believe consents have been breached, or the name of companies
involved [5].
From the information available it is almost certain that genetic
pollution is being released into the environment, despite
assurances from the Government that the technology is being
closely policed.
Pete Riley, Food Campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said:
"Not enough is being done to protect the environment from
experiments with genetically modified crops. HSE Inspections are
inadequate, secretive and ineffective. Genetic pollution is
almost certainly being released into the environment. Records
relating to previous alleged breaches are not even available to
the HSE and the Government. It's a complete shambles.
"Of course, it's good news that the Government now accepts
the potential dangers of GM crops and is considering a
moratorium. It should be for at least five years as recommended
by English Nature, and not three. But the shambles at the HSE
shows that any trial crops grown during a moratorium must be
limited to specific research projects, conducted by the
Government and closely monitored"
The Government's biotech advisers ACRE (the Advisory Committee on
Releases to the Environment) have previously operated a policy of
"naming and shaming" companies that have failed to
comply with consents. The rogues gallery includes [6] Monsanto,
Nickerson Biocem, AgrEvo and the National Institute of
Agricultural Botany. Consent breaches are alleged to have
included: too small a buffer zone surrounding the crops, failure
to implement measures to limit the escape of pollen, and the
scattering of seed outside the designated area. Earlier this year
ACRE's Chair, John Beringer, is reported as saying "I'm all
for naming and shaming as this is worth many times more than
fines". The list of shame policy is currently being
reconsidered.
[1] The Government licenses companies to grow genetically
modified crop trials at specified sites. The sites are inspected
by the HSE.
[2] Letter from the HSE, 05/10/98.
[3] Of the 49 sites that have been monitored this year, it is the
opinion of the inspector that consents have been breached in five
cases. There is no indication from the HSE over the level of
seriousness of these breaches.
[4] The HSE have monitored around 15% of the sites licensed so
far this year. Last year they monitored 70 sites, or 36.4% of
those sites licensed to conduct trials. However, it is possible
that not all licensed sites will have grown crops.
[5] The HSE refused to give FOE information about the locations
of breaches and the names of the company's that breached them
under exemption 13 of the "code of practice on access to
government information". FOE is to write to Environment
Minister, Michael Meacher, to challenge this refusal.
[6] As reported in New Scientist 4 April 1998.
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