Scientific Opinion on the identification of pesticides to be included in cumulative assessment groups on the basis of their toxicological profile (original) (raw)

Developing a pesticide risk assessment tool to monitor progress in reducing reliance on high-risk pesticides

American Journal of Potato Research, 2002

A methodology is presented for the development of a pesticide risk assessment tool that was used to monitor progress in reducing use of high-risk pesticides in Wisconsin potato production. Multi-attribute toxicity factors are calculated that reflect each pesticide’s acute and chronic toxicity to mammals, birds, fish and small aquatic organisms, and compatibility with biointensive Integrated Pest Management. These factors are then multiplied by the pounds of active ingredient of a given pesticide applied to estimate pesticide-specific toxicity units. Wisconsin potato industry baseline toxicity units by type of pesticide and for 11 targeted higher-risk pesticides are presented for 1995. Reductions in toxicity units from this baseline are reported for 1997 and 1999, as are reductions achieved in a commercial-scale field experiment in 2000. Se presenta una metodología para el desarrollo de una herramienta de evaluación de riesgos de los plaguicidas que fue usada para vigilar los progresos en la reducción del uso de plaguicidas de alto riesgo en la productión de papas de Wisconsin. Se calculan los atributos múltiples de los factores de toxicidad, que reflejan la toxicidad aguda y crónica de cada plaguicida para los mamíferos, aves, peces y organismos acuáticos pequeños, y la compatibilidad con un biointensivo Manejo Integrado de Piagas. Estos factores son luego multiplicados por las libras del principio activo del plaguicida aplicado, con el fin de calcular las unidades de toxicidad específicas del plaguicida. Se presenta el punto de comparación para 1995 de las unidades de toxicidad de la industria de papa de Wisconsin por tipo del plaguicida y para 11 plaguicidas seleccionados por ser de más alto riesgo. Se reportan las reducciones del punto de comparación en las unidades de toxicidad para 1997 y 1999, como reducciones logradas en un experimento de campo de escala comercial en el 2000.

Establishment of cumulative assessment groups of pesticides for their effects on the nervous system

EFSA Journal, 2019

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Pesticide Exposure, Safety Issues, and Risk Assessment Indicators

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2011

Pesticides are widely used in agricultural production to prevent or control pests, diseases, weeds, and other plant pathogens in an effort to reduce or eliminate yield losses and maintain high product quality. Although pesticides are developed through very strict regulation processes to function with reasonable certainty and minimal impact on human health and the environment, serious concerns have been raised about health risks resulting from occupational exposure and from residues in food and drinking water. Occupational exposure to pesticides often occurs in the case of agricultural workers in open fields and greenhouses, workers in the pesticide industry, and exterminators of house pests. Exposure of the general population to pesticides occurs primarily through eating food and drinking water contaminated with pesticide residues, whereas substantial exposure can also occur in or around the home. Regarding the adverse effects on the environment (water, soil and air contamination from leaching, runoff, and spray drift, as well as the detrimental effects on wildlife, fish, plants, and other non-target organisms), many of these effects depend on the toxicity of the pesticide, the measures taken during its application, the dosage applied, the adsorption on soil colloids, the weather conditions prevailing after application, and how long the pesticide persists in the environment. Therefore, the risk assessment of the impact of pesticides either on human health or on the environment is not an easy and particularly accurate process because of differences in the periods and levels of exposure, the types of pesticides used (regarding toxicity and persistence), and the environmental characteristics OPEN ACCESS

Assessing aggregate and cumulative pesticide risks using a probabilistic model

Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 2001

Determining aggregate and cumulative risks from exposures to pesticides presents a number of challenges. The analysis must capture the correlations in residues that occur from both additive and exclusionary processes in the use of pesticides. The analysis also requires a quantitative mechanism for evaluating risks associated with exposures to mixtures of pesticides. This paper presents an analysis of aggregate exposures and risks associated with exposures to a pesticide, Alpha, and the cumulative exposure to and risk from three pesticides, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. The cumulative risks are evaluated by determining the systemic (absorbed) doses that result from inhalation, dermal, and oral exposures to the pesticides. A 'relative toxicity' model is used to evaluate cumulative risks. The assessment of cumulative exposure was performed using the LifeLine Version 1.0. The model simulates pesticide exposure using an individual-based approach where daily exposures are evaluated for each person, season, and location.

Risk from pesticide mixtures -The gap between risk assessment and reality

Science of the Total Environment, 2021

Pesticide applications in agricultural crops often comprise a mixture of plant protection products (PPP), and single fields face multiple applications per year leading to complex pesticide mixtures in the environment. Restricted to single PPP, the current European Union PPP regulation, however, disregards the ecological risks of pesticide mixtures. To quantify this additional risk, we evaluated the contribution of single pesticide active ingredients to the additive mixture risk for aquatic risk indicators (invertebrates and algae) in 464 different PPP used, 3446 applications sprayed and 830 water samples collected in Central Europe, Germany. We identified an average number of 1.3 different pesticides in a single PPP, 3.1 for complete applications often involving multiple PPP and 30 in stream water samples. Under realistic worst-case conditions, the estimated stream water pesticide risk based on additive effects was 3.2 times higher than predicted from single PPP. We found that in streams, however, the majority of regulatory threshold exceedances was caused by single pesticides alone (69% for algae, 81% for invertebrates). Both in PPP applications and in stream samples, pesticide exposure occurred in repeated pulses each driven by one to few alternating pesticides. The time intervals between pulses were shorter than the

Outcome of the pesticides peer review meeting on general recurring issues in ecotoxicology

EFSA Supporting Publications, 2015

This technical report reflects the outcome of the mammalian toxicology experts' meeting on general recurring issues noted during the EFSA peer reviews of pesticide active substances under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009. The main issues identified were related to genotoxicity of products and principles of (Q)SAR and read-across. General presentations on the different EFSA guidance and EFSA developmental activities related to human health risk assessment of pesticides were given.

The NIOSH Retrospective Pesticide Reference Database

Journal of Agricultural Safety and Health, 2009

For the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) case-control study of glioma among non-metropolitan residents, pesticide information was considered critical. Responses to open-ended questions about pesticide exposures had to be grouped for analysis. Our aim was to classify pesticide responses in biologically relevant categories. We built the NIOSH Retrospective Pesticide Reference Database (NIOSH-RPRD) on over 1000 pesticide products and chemicals, particularly those likely to be used in the upper Midwest, using multiple sources. We obtained first and last years of product registration and product pesticide ingredients and their relative weights from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Pesticide Product Information System. We added fields for pesticide class (organophosphate, etc.), carcinogenicity ratings, and evidence regarding endocrine-disrupting activity. Participant data were merged with the database, allowing each product recalled by a respondent to be linked to one or more chemicals, as appropriate. Respondents named 1,347 different pesticides (or pesticide-targeted species) used on the farm, at non-farm jobs, or at home. Database usefulness was assessed by comparing numbers of responses naming actual chemicals to total responses linked to those chemicals. Sixty percent of farm pesticide, 59% of non-farm occupational, and 65% of house and garden responses named products, not chemicals. Among farm pesticide users, 182 (46%) reported using a total of 440 pesticides 1 to 40 years (mean 8.5 years) before those pesticides actually were marketed. The NIOSH-RPRD, now available to other investigators, has been a useful tool for us and other researchers to evaluate, group, and correct pesticide responses.