Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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578. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 24 of 2 February 2017, if chlorpyrifos is still approved for use here in a form (details supplied); the details of the acceptable exposure levels for chlorpyrifos-methyl; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7154/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Further to my response to your previous parliamentary question of 2nd February last, I would like to confirm again that there are no plant protection products on the Irish market containing “chlorpyrifos”. The US EPA review which was referred to in the previous question considered “chlorpyrifos” only.

“Chlorpyrifos-methyl” is a distinctly different and less toxic molecule than “chlorpyrifos”.  In addition, the use pattern differs significantly in so far as the product registered in Ireland, “Reldan 22”, is approved for use on grain store structures and on cereal grain only, whereas chlorpyrifos in the form of various products, most notably “Dursban 4”, was traditionally used in a large array of crops by broadcast application. 

Chlorpyrifos-methyl is significantly less harmful than chlorpyrifos.  The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) and Acceptable Operator Exposure level (AOEL) of chlorpyrifos-methyl is 10 times greater than chlorpyrifos while the Acute Reference Dose (ARfD) is 20 times greater than the corresponding values for chlorpyrifos. This means that while question marks were raised by the US EPA with regard to chlorpyrifos, the corresponding toxicological limits for chlorpyrifos-methyl, which are multiples higher, did not trigger the same concerns, and therefore regulatory action was not deemed necessary at this time. The use of chlorpyrifos-methyl will be kept under review in light of any further scientific developments.