GM Crop Farm-Scale Evaluations

Spring 2002 GM Oilseed Rape and Beet Farm Scale Evaluations - Individual Site Assessments

Objective

Aventis CropScience Ltd and Monsanto plc each hold licences (Deliberate Release consents) to carry out releases of a particular line of genetically modified crop (oilseed rape, sugar beet or fodder beet) in the farmscale evaluation programme in England. Supplied in the original consent applications were Aventis's or Monsanto's generic risk assessments and these were considered by a body of independent expert scientists - the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), before permission was granted for these programmes of work to proceed in England.

Aventis and Monsanto's applications and risk assessments are such that the releases may only take place in areas where conventional oilseed rape or beet would be grown normally. The consent holders notified the Department of proposed locations for these releases indicating that the original risk assessment was applicable to these sites.

Officials from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) have carried out a statutory risk assessment of each of the proposed sites to verify and check that there are no local factors which alter the risk assessment.

Factors such as location and size of the site, the description of the site ecosystem and in particular whether the trial is situated in an area where that crop is normally grown, were considered together with the proximity of each site to sites of special scientific interest (SSSI's). These assessments can be found in the pages that follow [See note and end of this document].

Site assessments

Most of these assessments can be done within Defra using databases and detailed environmental mapping systems. A Global Information System (GIS) database was used to check the grid reference against each site. In all cases there was satisfactory correspondence. Also checked was the name of the civil parish in which the release was to take place. The proposed acreage of planting was checked to ensure it corresponded to that permitted under the terms of the consent.

Proximity of SSSI's in relation to each release site were checked by English Nature (the statutory conservation body in England). Two locations were identified where a SSSI or part of a SSSI was located within 1 km of an oilseed rape release site (Meden Vale, Nottinghamshire and Alderminster, Warwickshire). English Nature has indicated that they are satisfied that these release sites do not pose a risk to the SSSIs in question. No locations for beet sites were within 1 km of an SSSI although two sites (Rottington, Cumbria and Burnham Market, Norfolk) where distant SSSIs may contain native sea beet (Beta maritima) were identified. English Nature has indicated that they are satisfied that these release sites do not pose a risk to the SSSIs in question.

The Health and Safety Executive is content that none of the releases pose a risk to human health.

Each assessment is accompanied by a description of the site ecosystem. This was determined by calculating the density (ha/sq.km) of different land cover types within 5km of each release site using the 1 km square version of the 1990 Land Cover Map. Where figures for the tilled land and managed grassland were low (below 20 ha/sq.km) using this approach officials visited these sites (Meden Vale, Nottingham), to take a closer look to check that the selected fields were in an arable ecosystem and that there was a history of oilseed rape or beet cultivation in the area (and was compliant with the risk assessment). Other locations were also visited but these were selected at random and not because the studies suggested a closer look (Frampton End, South Gloucestershire and Tincleton, Dorset are examples). During site visits, a handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) was used to verify the location of the field in relation to the field grid reference supplied by the consent holder.

Conclusions

All sites were found to be compliant with the information submitted by Aventis CropScience Ltd or Monsanto plc and the overall risk assessments as detailed in consents 00/R33/9, 99/R22/16 and 99/R22/17.

FARM SCALE EVALUATIONS - Spring 2002

Note: remaining sections of this document have been made available in Adobe Acrobat format for downloading:

• Sugar Beet (60kb)
• Fodder Beet (35kb)
• Oil Seed Rape (100kb)

(The assessment reports have been split into three documents, one for each consent. Page numbers, referring to pages in the Acrobat document, can be found at the end of this section and also in the table at the beginning of each Acrobat document.)

Sugar Beet

Fodder Beet

Oil Seed Rape

* This site has been withdrawn

** This is an additional site which was notified after the initial sites.