Project
Beoordelingsmethodieken niet-doelwit organismen, bijen
Plant protection products are used in a specific place for a specific purpose and they are not intended to be used outside that place or towards other organisms. Exposure of non-target organisms dwelling in the non-target zone is an important part of the risk assessment when authorizing plant protection products. Drift-reducing measures for the non-target zone have to be established. Establishing a link between exposure and possible effects is important as well.
The overall aim is to determine robust exposure and impact assessment methodologies for non-target arthropods (NTAs) and non-taget palnts (NTPs). Exposure of non-target organisms dwelling in the non-target zone is part of the risk assessment during the authorisation. Spray drift is an important exposure route for the non-target zone. Spray drift deposition and drift reduction measures must be evaluated for the risk assessment. Similar to the risk assessment methodology for aquatic organisms, there is a need for a good set of instruments for the assessment of non-target plants and arthropods as well, which is a major goal of this project. Although some guidance already is available on linking exposure and effects for non-target arthropods and plants, this is less developed than that for risk assessment in surface water. In particular, the risk assessment for bumblebees and solitary bees, which can be classified as bees but also as NTA, is still relatively simple, similar to the exposure assessment of non-target arthropods and fauna in the soil. In order to fill these knowledge gaps and to arrive at more realistic methods, linking these exposure routes and the exposure effects from supporting experiments is initiated.