CEA are delighted to have been a part of a recent workshop to discuss the intermediate-tier refinement options for soil organisms potentially exposed to plant protection products (pesticides).
Dr Amy Brooks was invited to attend the workshop organised by CropLife Europe, with other attendees from industry, consultancy and government agencies.
The outcome of the workshop has now been published in the SETAC Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (IEAM) journal:
Authors: Gregor Ernst, Mónica J. B. Amorim, Melanie Bottoms, Amy C. Brooks, Mark E. Hodson, Stefan Kimmel, Pia Kotschik, Michael T. Marx, Tiago Natal-da-Luz, Céline Pelosi, Silvia Pieper, Agnes Schimera, Janeck Scott-Fordsmand, Amanda Sharples, José P. Sousa, Cornelis A. M. van Gestel, Bart van Hall, Matthias Bergtold
The European environmental risk assessment (ERA) of plant protection products follows a tiered approach. The approach for soil invertebrates currently consists of two steps, starting with a Tier 1 assessment based on reproduction toxicity tests with earthworms, springtails, and predatory mites. In case an unacceptable risk is identified at Tier 1, field studies can be conducted as a higher-tier option. For soil invertebrates, intermediate tiers are not implemented. Hence, there is limited possibility to include additional information for the ERA to address specific concerns when the Tier 1 fails, as an alternative to, for example, a field study. Calibrated intermediate-tier approaches could help to address risks for soil invertebrates with less time and resources but also with sufficient certainty. A multistakeholder workshop was held on 2–4 March 2022 to discuss potential intermediate-tier options, focusing on four possible areas: (1) natural soil testing, (2) single-species tests (other than standard species), (3) assessing recovery in laboratory tests, and (4) the use of assembled soil multispecies test systems. The participants acknowledged a large potential in the intermediate-tier options but concluded that some issues need to be clarified before routine application of these approaches in the ERA is possible, that is, sensitivity, reproducibility, reliability, and standardization of potential new test systems. The definition of suitable assessment factors needed to calibrate the approaches to the protection goals was acknowledged. The aims of the workshop were to foster scientific exchange and a data-driven dialog, to discuss how the different approaches could be used in the risk assessment, and to identify research priorities for future work to address uncertainties and strengthen the tiered approach in the ERA for soil invertebrates. This article outlines the background, proposed methods, technical challenges, difficulties and opportunities in the ERA, and conclusions of the workshop.
The journal article is available on the IEAM website.
You can find all of our publications from conferences and links to journal articles we have authored on our library page.
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