Pesticide regulatory risk assessment, monitoring, and fate studies in the northern zone: recommendations from a Nordic-Baltic workshop.

Abstract

The recent revision of the legal framework for authorization of use of plant protection products and pesticides within the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA; Regulation EC 1107/2009, Directive 2009/128/EC) imposes a need for close collaboration across country borders within the three pesticide authorization zones (designated the north, central, and south zones) in Europe. The principles of zonal evaluation and mutual recognition embedded in Regulation EC 1107/2009 concerning marketing of plant protection products are intended to reduce the approval times for pesticides. However, the three authorization zones represent a very simplified view compared to the 16 climatic zones/scenarios that have been outlined for pesticide modeling in Europe (Blenkinsop et al. 2008; Fig. 1). Pedoclimatic or agricultural constraints could entitle the individual states to adopt restrictions on the use of pesticides approved within their zone or even to refuse approval. Fig. 1 Zones for pesticide authorization overlaid on climatic zones for pesticide modeling (reprinted from Blenkinsop et al. 2008 with permission from Elsevier) in Europe To achieve a sound scientific basis for zonal evaluation and collaboration on a regulatory level, it is also necessary to increase research collaboration and knowledge exchange within the scientific community. Here, we report the main conclusions and recommendations from a Nordic-Baltic workshop on the environmental fate of pesticides, which was conducted in As, Norway, in September 2014 with the aim of promoting knowledge exchange, network building, and a common agenda for future research within the northern zone. Pesticide regulatory risk assessment in the northern zone Zonal evaluation and mutual recognition The “Guidance document on work sharing in the Northern zone in the authorization of plant protection products” (Anonymous 2015) states that the northern zone cooperation includes the EU member states Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as the European Economic Community/European Free Trade Association (EEC/EFTA) members Norway and Iceland. The guidance document was implemented in all countries within the zone from January 2015. Climatic zones for pesticide modeling (Blenkinsop et al. 2008) reflect the complexity of the different authorization zones within Europe (Fig. 1). According to this classification, the northern zone countries cover seven of the 16 climatic zones (Table ​(Table1).1). The variation within the northern zone is further illustrated by the 13 environmental zones representing an aggregation of the environmental stratification of Europe (Metzger et al. 2005; Jongman et al. 2006), five of which are covered by the northern zone countries (Table ​(Table2).2). The duration of the growing season and the sum of active temperatures are doubled when moving southward from the alpine north to the Atlantic north. This will inevitably affect the possibility of harmonizing risk assessment procedures and/or requirements between the countries within the northern zone, and it will also influence the commercial viability of the pesticide industry. Table 1 Climate zones for pesticide modeling (Blenkinsop et al. 2008) in the northern zone countries Table 2 Growing season characteristics in the northern zone based on the environmental stratification of Europe (Metzger et al. 2005; Jongman et al. 2006) Due to the strict limits of the timeline for the zonal evaluation (SANCO/13169/2010 rev. 9), there must be good agreement between the countries in the northern zone to ensure a satisfactory risk assessment. The time frame during which the member states are to appraise specific national concerns comprises a period of 6 weeks for commenting on the draft regulatory report and 120 days for assessment after the initial zonal evaluation.