Dear Health Commissioner Ms. Kyriakides,
We are writing to you regarding the delayed decision on the non-renewal of the pesticide difenoconazole. The deadline for the assessment of the active substance was December 2018 and with the help of five ‘prolongations’ this is now moved to December 2026. This pesticide can cause serious harm to humans and the environment as we demonstrate in this letter and we urge you to give high priority to this matter. The overwhelming evidence in public literature on the endocrine activity and harmful endocrine effects of difenoconazole should lead, according to Art. 4.1 of the Regulation1 to ‘first establish’ if the hazard criteria are met, to the non-renewal of the substance. We regret to see that this has not been the case.
