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There is an identified need to revise the default air concentration values and assumptions applied in assessing vapour exposure in the risk assessment of bystanders and residents to plant protection products. To address this, we evaluated inhalation exposure via vapour using previously unpublished data from 29 field and wind tunnel studies. The database comprises 35 trials with 11 active ingredients covering a wide range of scenarios with respect to vapour pressure, crops, application rates and European regions. Of the 961 individual measurements, 634 were below the Limit of Detection (LOD), 282 were between the LOD and Limit of Quantification (LOQ) and only 45 (4.7%) were quantifiable. Ten individual non-normalized samples exceeded 0.1 μg/m3. Of the 81 first- day measurements after the application, 36 were <LOD, and quantifiable mean, 75th and 95th percentiles values were 0.114, 0.083, 0.552 μg/m3/kg AI applied/ha, respectively. No robust correlations between air concen- tration and temperature, leaf coverage, humidity, wind speed, and field size were identified; there is very limited correlation between air concentration and vapour pressure and Henry’s constant in a subset of the data. These data indicate that potentially inhalable pesticide vapour within or near fields occurs only at very low concen- trations in real scenarios.
Authors
Edgars Felkers a, 1, *, Felix M. Kluxen a, Sarah Adham b, Anne-Kim Vinck c, Nicola J. Hewitt d, Neil Morgan e
a ADAMA Deutschland GmbH, Cologne, Germany b Corteva Agriscience, Abingdon, UK
c Bayer SAS, Crop Science Division, Lyon, France d SWS, Erzhausen, Germany
e Syngenta, Jealott’s Hill International Research Centre, Bracknell, UK
Joint open letter from agri-food chain organisations regarding the potential impact of the current proposal on Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products Regulation (“SUR”) on the EU agricultural value chain, considering the current socio- economic situation in Europe
CropLife Europe input for SCOPAFF meeting 13-14 October 2022
- General issues on regulatory processes – IUCLID
- Co-formulants – Implementation of Annex III
- Amendment Regulation (EU) No 547/2011
- Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) for pesticides are trading standards driving good agricultural practice and ensuring a level playing field for EU and other farmers.
- Different regions have different needs.
- Trade-restrictive measure is inconsistent with EU and WTO legal frameworks and will harm competitiveness of the EU food chain.
• The sustainability of food products should be analysed based on their overall contribution to the environmental, social, and economic pillars of sustainability. To avoid undermining the EU’s sustainability goals, any assessment should be evidence-based and equally applying to all production models without distinction.
• Food safety and food sustainability are conceptually different things. Their assessment should remain separate, in order to avoid unnecessary confusion and further increasing the burden and unpredictability of the EU decision-making process for stakeholders and authorities.
• We encourage the EC to prioritise multilateral agreements to address global sustainability issues. Unilaterally imposed sustainability requirements for imported goods may be unfair and discriminatory, and create unnecessary trade frictions with partners.
While we support the Green Deal ambition to tackle environmental challenges, we firmly believe that using multilateral fora, not non-tariff barriers, is the correct way to achieve this. We are concerned that the evolving EU policy on Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) is likely to contradict EU law and international rules. This may create trade disruptions, legal disputes and reciprocal market access measures from other countries. If this were to happen, it could have a negative impact on both EU imports of agricultural goods and exports of higher value-added foods and drinks, agricultural development around the world and consumer choice (and prices).
DownloadCropLife Europe input for SCOPAFF meeting 14-15 July 2022
• CropLife Europe conference 2023
• Guidance documents
• Biopesticides
• Co-formulants – implementation of Annex III
• Transparency Regulation implementation issues
• Key legislative proposals affecting future availability of Plant Protection Products
CropLife Europe believes the promotion of innovation will be the key driver for achieving the objectives of the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Regulation and for the necessary transformation of European agriculture toward sustainability.
Pesticide reduction targets at EU and national levels need to consider the availability of alternatives and address individual country-specific agricultural environments to transition to a more sustainable European food system.
Alongside promotion of IPM and best practices for sustainability, the European agricultural sector needs a policy framework conveying a clear plan for delivering innovative technologies across the full spectrum of available solutions and increases the uptake of digital and precision tools and biopesticides.