Overhaul environmental risk assessment for pesticides

Topping, Chris; Aldrich, Annette; Berny, Philippe

doi:10.1126/science.aay1144

Cited by 207 publications

(138 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Increased social interest on the field of ecology and public health forced RA direction at more wide range, including among others controlling hazardous wastes. RA considerations may involve either human health or ecological risk, and both of them may be considered separately (Manuele 2016;Topping et al 2020).…”

Section: Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methods and tools for environmental technologies risk evaluation: the principal guidelines—a review

Kowalska

Grobelak

Kacprzak

et al. 2020

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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The commonly used and developing engineering environmental technologies do not remain neutral for an ecosystem. The deepening climate changes are generally considered as the effects of human activities. There is thus no doubt that any human interference in the environment should be comprehensively checked at the beginning for all its positive and negative aspects for the environment as well as society health. There are two different analytical tools useful in environmental management: life cycle assessment (LCA) and risk assessment (RA). The first follows the product from “from birth to the grave” summing the environmental impact at all stages of its “life” including such elements like producing, used electricity, transport and many others. LCA refers to quantification and classification of all effects at all life stages and provides direct and indirect possible environmental interactions. On the other hand, risk assessment focuses on linking stressors and its possibilities and severity. RA tools reveal environmental and human health impacts of strictly separated elements, providing insight as to which emission consists of an important threat. This paper is focused on summarizing two the most used methods and tools for supporting the decision making process in use of environmental engineering technologies. In this paper, the fundamental differences between LCA and RA and benefits from their use has been contained.

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Section: Risk Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methods and tools for environmental technologies risk evaluation: the principal guidelines—a review

Kowalska

Grobelak

Kacprzak

et al. 2020

Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…Apis mellifera representing all pollinators) [31]. Consequently, neonicotinoids could be replaced with other insecticides that are equally as harmful to beneficial insects [32][33][34].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do novel insecticides pose a threat to beneficial insects?

Siviter

Muth

2020

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Systemic insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, are a major contributor towards beneficial insect declines. This has led to bans and restrictions on neonicotinoid use globally, most noticeably in the European Union, where four commonly used neonicotinoids (imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin and thiacloprid) are banned from outside agricultural use. While this might seem like a victory for conservation, restrictions on neonicotinoid use will only benefit insect populations if newly emerging insecticides do not have similar negative impacts on beneficial insects. Flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor are two novel insecticides that have been registered for use globally, including within the European Union. These novel insecticides differ in their chemical class, but share the same mode of action as neonicotinoids, raising the question as to whether they have similar sub-lethal impacts on beneficial insects. Here, we conducted a systematic literature search of the potential sub-lethal impacts of these novel insecticides on beneficial insects, quantifying these effects with a meta-analysis. We demonstrate that both flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor have significant sub-lethal impacts on beneficial insects at field-realistic levels of exposure. These results confirm that bans on neonicotinoid use will only protect beneficial insects if paired with significant changes to the agrochemical regulatory process. A failure to modify the regulatory process will result in a continued decline of beneficial insects and the ecosystem services on which global food production relies.

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“…Over two million tons of pesticides are applied annually around the world [1]. Although many countries have taken pesticide application under control, the hazard of their negative impact on non-target organisms and ecosystems is not fully ensured [2,3]. There are three possible ways to decrease the negative impact of the applied pesticides: (1) improving the monitoring system of pesticide impact on the environment; (2) assessing the risk of pesticide application using the soil-climate conditions of a specific region; and (3) developing the pesticides of minimum toxicity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel Pesticide Risk Indicators for Aquatic Organisms and Earthworms

et al. 2020

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There are many approaches of pesticide risk assessment. Despite their variation in difficulty and information complexity, all of them are intended to predict the actual pesticide risk as accurately as possible, i.e., to predict the behavior and hazard of a pesticide in the environment with high precision. The aim of this study was to develop a risk indicator of pesticide’s negative impact on soil and aquatic organisms. The developed pesticide risk indicator constitutes the sum of points of acute toxicity exposure ratio, long-term toxicity exposure ratio, and the bioconcentration factor. To develop the indicator, mathematical models were used; the input data included the soil and climate conditions of a specific region. Combining the data of pesticide toxicity in the environment allowed for a more accurate risk assessment in terms of using plant protection products. The toxicity and behavior in soil and water of 200 widespread pesticides were studied. It could be concluded that a mathematical model, PEARL 4.4.4, calibrated for region-specific soil-climate conditions, provides a relevant description of the natural translocation and decomposition of pesticides in soils. In addition, the output data of this model can be applied to calculate the risk indicators. The combination of these parameters with pesticide toxicity for non-target groups of organisms allows the risk indicator to be a universal tool for predicting the negative impact of pesticides on the environment at the regional level.

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Overhaul environmental risk assessment for pesticides

Abstract: Align regulation with environmental reality and policy

Cited by 207 publications

References 9 publications

Methods and tools for environmental technologies risk evaluation: the principal guidelines—a review

Methods and tools for environmental technologies risk evaluation: the principal guidelines—a review

Do novel insecticides pose a threat to beneficial insects?

Novel Pesticide Risk Indicators for Aquatic Organisms and Earthworms

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