FEARS that a pesticide is set to be ‘offloaded’ by air onto Dartmoor are unfounded — the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) confirmed this week.

A Facebook page ‘Asulam on Dartmoor’ was created due to fears that the toxic chemical Asulam or Asulox was to be offloaded on Dartmoor over three months, causing harm to humans and animals.

More than 5,000 names have also been added to a petition to the Government entitled ‘Stop the aerial spraying of toxic chemicals on Dartmoor’.

But the HSE has told the Times this week that these concerns were not based on fact.

A spokesperson said: ‘The HSE has received no applications to apply Asulam by air to Dartmoor and we understand that operators have no plans to aerially apply pesticides there.’

Asulam is traditionally used for killing bracken and it can be used by landowners on a small scale without a permit. Any large scale aerial use of this pesticide has to be authorised by the Health and Safety Executive which issues permits after following a rigourous checking process which includes consultations with Natural England to ensure the protection of conservation areas and water courses.