Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs)
pose significant risks to human health and the environment
"Highly Hazardous Pesticides means pesticides that are acknowledged to present particularly high levels of acute or chronic hazards to health or environment according to internationally accepted classification systems such as WHO or GHS or their listing in relevant binding international agreements or conventions. In addition, pesticides that appear to cause severe or irreversible harm to health or the environment under conditions of use in a country may be considered to be and treated as highly hazardous". (definition as per International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management, adopted by FAO and WHO in 2013).
A considerable proportion of the pesticides still being used in India can be considered highly hazardous, because they have a high acute toxicity, have known chronic toxic effects even at very low exposure levels, or are very persistent in the environment or in organisms.
More than a 100 pesticides
currently approved for use in India
are Highly Hazardous
The International Code of Conduct defines the term ‘hazard’ as:
“Hazard means the inherent property of a substance, agent or situation
having the potential to cause undesirable consequences
(Example, properties that can cause adverse effects or damage to health, the environment).”