Pesticide Risk Assessment Research Articles (Page 1)

Estimation and risk assessment of pesticides and their toxicologically relevant metabolites in cereals using modified QuEChERS method and analysis by Gas Chromatography tandem Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS/MS)

Ecological risk assessment of organochlorine pesticides in coastal sediments: A multi-level approach in the greater bay area

Risk assessment of organophosphorus and heterocyclic pesticides in drinking water sources using safety thresholds derived from species sensitivity distribution model

Beyond traditional toxicology: The transformative power of PBTK modeling.

Dietary risk assessment of metals and pesticides in honey imported from different countries and marketing in Saudi Arabia

Ultra-low concentrations of a botanical insecticide blend alter microbiota composition and gene expression in the ladybeetle Propylea japonica.

Evaluation of the crop sequence boundary (CSB) dataset for field boundary mapping and spatial overlap analysis supporting pesticide risk assessment

Mesocosms can be used in higher tier aquatic risk assessments to assess the impact of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) on macrophytes. However, it is unclear whether these expensive and time consuming higher tier studies influence regulatory outcomes. This review highlights common shortcomings in the experimental design of mesocosm studies, with the aim of maximising the regulatory value of future mesocosm studies. Fourteen mesocosm studies, which have been submitted for the regulatory risk assessments for macrophytes in the EU or GB, were identified and reviewed. Results show that only five of the 14 mesocosm studies were deemed acceptable by the regulatory authorities, suggesting that mesocosm studies are not currently being used to their full potential. Issues with the submitted studies include not following a realistic PPP exposure profile (including incorrect dose timings and dilutions), only using one macrophyte morphology, not leaving enough time for the macrophytes to establish and a lack of replicates which increases variability within treatments. Glyceria maxima and Myriophyllum spicatum were frequently the most sensitive macrophyte species, whilst dry weight was often the most sensitive and least variable endpoint. Even though mesocosms provide the opportunity for recovery and community responses to be observed, such information has not been used by regulatory authorities. Future regulatory mesocosm studies can build upon the shortcomings highlighted here, providing a greater chance of regulatory impact.

Pesticide spray drift and risk assessment using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sprayer and traditional electric knapsack sprayer (EKS).

Exporting agricultural produce is vital for the economy of Aotearoa New Zealand, and pest management, typically reliant on pesticides, ensures high productivity and quality. However, due to human health and environmental risks, pesticide use is increasingly regulated internationally and influenced by consumer attitudes. This paper summarises the recommendations from a workshop held in Auckland, New Zealand in April 2023 within the context of the topic at the time of publication. The workshop involved members of regional and national government, researchers and various commercial sectors, and aimed to identify challenges related to pesticide risk assessment and management in New Zealand. Key recommendations to strengthen government policies and reduce risks included establishing secure national data-sharing systems for pesticide use, modernising the regulatory framework with time-bound approvals, and introducing incentives for agricultural pesticide users to transition to more sustainable practices. Increased government funding would enable timely pesticide (re)assessments and more targeted pesticide monitoring in the environment.

A simplified landscape-based approach for including agronomical and ecological characteristic in pesticide risk assessments for terrestrial vertebrates.

A new cage design to test pesticide impacts on honey bees via toxicant exposure through sucrose, pollen and beeswax simultaneously.

Urban soil contamination by current-use pesticides and their transformation products: Insights from targeted analysis and suspect screening.

Occurrence and environmental risk assessment of pesticides in urban wastewater in Costa Rica.

Abstract EU Regulation 1107/2009 requires environmental risk assessments (ERA) for non‐target organisms exposed to active substances in plant protection products. To advance the ERA of pesticides effectively, it is important to consider and assess the relationship between crop development stages (BBCH), calendar dates and locations across the EU. Therefore, the present study aims to enhance pesticide risk assessment for non‐target organisms by precisely mapping crop development stages (BBCH) across the EU. This involved extensive data collection and curation from sources like C2D2, PEP725, and TEMPO, alongside literature, creating a harmonized database of over 1.2 million phenological observations. Rigorous cleaning processes addressed inconsistencies and duplicates across these diverse datasets. Comparisons revealed C2D2's broad spatial coverage across Europe, while PEP725 concentrated in Central Europe and TEMPO in France. C2D2 and TEMPO offered observations across various growth stages, unlike PEP725 which focused on sowing, emergence, and harvest. While C2D2 and PEP725 generally aligned for cereals and sunflower, harvest dates sometimes differed significantly. Similarly, C2D2 and TEMPO showed slight variations for maize and sunflower. To address data gaps and spatial variability, the study developed models for predicting sowing dates and phenological stages. Sowing dates were predicted using a temperature‐driven rule, supplemented by a median rule for regions where management practices (like irrigation) heavily influence planting, as seen with maize in Southern Europe. The WOFOST cropping system model's phenological sub‐model was used to predict development stages, accounting for temperature, photoperiod, and vernalization. Calibration of WOFOST showed better results for winter crops compared to the spring crops. In conclusion, the project successfully established a comprehensive phenology database and robust modeling framework. This provides valuable, precise spatio‐temporal information on crop development, significantly improving environmental risk assessment for pesticides in the EU regulatory context. Future efforts could focus on aggregated crop groups to further improve model calibration and reduce extrapolation needs.

Pyrethroid insecticides, though effective against pests, often exhibit high toxicity to aquatic organisms. A notable exception is etofenprox, which is uniquely approved for rice paddies due to its low aquatic toxicity. However, this study uncovers a hidden ecological risk: etofenprox undergoes metabolic activation in the insect pest Nilaparvata lugens via oxidation mediated by cytochrome P450 CYP425A1. The oxidation converts the etofenprox ether bond into an ester (α-CO, 2-(4-ethoxyphenyl)-2-methylpropyl 3-phenoxybenzoate), a hallmark of potent pyrethroids. This transformation dramatically amplifies aquatic toxicity, with α-CO exhibiting 23-79-fold higher lethality in fish and crabs than the parent compound, reaching levels comparable to those of conventional pyrethroids like cypermethrin. Our findings challenge the traditional structure-toxicity paradigms by uncovering a dynamic "metabolic activation-toxicity amplification" mechanism. Crucially, this bioactivation creates an indirect exposure pathway in integrated rice-fish-crab systems, where predators ingest toxic metabolite-laden pests, escalating ecological risks. This study reveals insect-mediated metabolic conversion as a critical driver of hidden aquatic toxicity. This finding redefines pesticide risk assessment by advocating for mandatory metabolite toxicity evaluation alongside parent compounds. Our results urge a reconsideration of etofenprox's safety in aquatic agroecosystems, with broader implications for pyrethroid design and unforeseen ecological risks.

Millennia after the advent of pesticides and nearly eight decades into the widespread use of synthetic compounds, the role of such chemicals in modern society remains pivotal, despite persistent concerns over human and environmental safety. Rather than declining, pesticide use continues to expand, with shifting priorities regarding compound selection and application strategies. The growing prominence of biopesticides broadens pest management options but complicates the evaluation of their side effects. Additionally, evolving pesticide use patterns-including the increasing reliance on mixtures-introduce further complexities, as compound interactions and their effects on exposed organisms require closer scrutiny. Although pesticide risk assessment is a relatively young and evolving field, its progress remains hindered by misconceptions, biases, and oversimplifications. This review integrates ecotoxicology and stress biology into a conceptual framework to address these challenges, advocating for more precise and dynamic approaches to pesticide risk assessment.

Abstract Background Trifluoroacetate (TFA) is a substance of rising concern, because TFA is widespread and high TFA levels have been detected in groundwater, causing an imminent threat, e.g. to organisms in groundwater. Potential precursors of TFA contain at least one carbon-bound trifluoromethyl moiety, which includes several pesticides. However, only for few pesticides empirical evidence for TFA formation is available. This paper aims to provide an estimation of TFA emissions from pesticides used in the EU by applying two approaches. The estimation approach was based on application and crop cultivation data and was used to calculate (a) the theoretical TFA formation in g/ha for typical pesticidal uses in the EU and (b) TFA formation in t by considering crop cultivation areas in the EU. In addition, a worst-case groundwater modelling approach was developed to assume the TFA leaching potential from particular pesticide applications with the model commonly used in pesticide regulation. For the FOCUS modelling approach, we used harmonised EU endpoints for physico-chemical parameters of pesticide active substances and added TFA as metabolite, considering a worst-case formation of 100% from precursors. Results The lowest TFA formation potential in g/ha was determined for insecticides, while fungicides showed a strong variation. Taking crop production areas into account, five herbicides were identified as the most important TFA sources. The modelled TFA concentrations in groundwater were above 10 µg/L for most substances except for insecticides which predominately range from 0.1 µg/L to 10 µg/L. This is far above the legal limit of 0.1 µg/L for relevant pesticide metabolites in groundwater. Considering the results of both approaches, we prioritised nine out of 24 active substances as the most crucial ones regarding TFA leaching in the EU: diflufenican, flonicamid, fluazifop-P-butyl, fluazinam, flufenacet, fluopyram, flutolanil, picolinafen and trifloxystrobin. Conclusions Our estimated TFA emissions indicated potentially unacceptable leaching of TFA into groundwater. The most important active substances identified here can be used as priority substances to address this topic. Overall, it becomes clear that improved regulatory assessment of TFA is necessary in pesticide risk assessment.

Effect of PVC microplastics on pesticide sorption behavior in soil: Key roles of particle size and aging.

Enhancing pesticide risk assessment processes at the US Environmental Protection Agency.