Abstract
In 2009, the European Union adopted the Directive on Sustainable Use of pesticides (SUD, Directive 2009/128/EC) establishing a framework for achieving a sustainable use of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) through reducing the risks and impacts of PPP use on human health and the environment, promoting integrated pest management and stimulating effective non-chemical alternatives. The core idea of the SUD is that it is necessary to monitor the use of PPPs through the implementation of an appropriate set of risk indicators to monitor progress and trends in risk reduction within the Member States. To contribute to this direction, following a comprehensive analysis of the risk (including procedures of risk assessment and risk management) and involving stakeholders in the decision process, specific toolboxes of practical indirect risk indicators of exposure of Operators, Workers, Bystanders and Residents were developed and are now available to be used by Member States (MSs) based on their specific context.
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Notes
“Operators are persons who are involved in activities relating to the application of a PPP; Workers are persons who, as part of their employment, enter an area that has previously been treated with a PPP or who handle a crop that has been treated with a PPP (…); Bystanders are persons who are located within or directly adjacent to the area where PPP application or treatment is in process or has recently been completed (…); Residents are persons who live, work or attend school or any other institution adjacent to an area that is or has been treated with a PPP” (EFSA 2010).
BROWSE project, FP6 Theme: Environment (including climate change), Bystanders, Residents, Operators and Workers Exposure models for plant protection products, Grant agreement no: 265307, Project start date: 1st January 2011, Project end date: 31st December 2013, www.browseproject.eu.
HAIR project, FP6, STREP: Harmonized Environmental Indicators for Pesticide Risk, SSPE-CT-2003-501997, http://www.rivm.nl/rvs/Risicobeoordeling/Modellen_voor_risicobeoordeling/HAIR
EcoPest project, LIFE 07, Strategic plan for the adaptation and application of the principles for the sustainable use of pesticides in a vulnerable ecosystem, ENV/GR/00266, Project start date: 1st January 2009, Project end date: 31st March 2012, www.ecopest.gr
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Acknowledgments
This paper was produced in the frame of WP6 of the EU 7th Framework Programme project BROWSE (www.browseproject.eu) lead by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC). UCSC acknowledge the co-author Alexandru Marchis for the cooperation in the identification of the approach; Rianda Gerritsen-Ebben, Claire Butler Ellis, Pieter Spanoghe, Kiriaky Machera in defining needed inputs from the BROWSE exposure models; and Richard Glass for the interpretation of the results of the systematic surveys.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Sacchettini, G., Calliera, M., Marchis, A. et al. New risk indicator approach for Operators, Workers, Bystanders and Residents for a sustainable use of plant protection products. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 17586–17595 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4889-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4889-5
Keywords
- 2009/128/EC
- Sustainable Use Directive
- Indirect risk indicators
- Pesticide use
- Risk reduction
- Risk analysis
- Pesticide exposure