Definition

Pesticide active ingredients and formulations that have shown a high incidence of severe or irreversible adverse effects on human health or the environment.

Identification procedure

No international databases/lists exist of pesticides meeting HHP criteria 8. Assessment is at the discretion of national regulatory authorities. Whether or not a pesticide shows a high incidence of severe or irreversible adverse effects depends on local use circumstances and availability of reliable data.

Possible indicators that can be used by regulators are:

• Surveillance indicates high incidence of poisoning or environmental impact
• Surveillance indicates high exposure risks
• Regulatory measures taken by countries with comparable pesticide use situations
• Surveillance from comparable countries indicating high incidence of poisoning or environmental impact

More information can be found in the FAO/WHO Guidelines on developing a reporting system for health and environmental incidents resulting from exposure to pesticides [2009]; also available in French and Spanish 

Data sources

• Monitoring or surveillance reports generated in the country, or in countries with similar pesticide use conditions.
• Pesticide poisoning statistics (e.g. from the national poison centre)
• Pesticide poisoning incident reports