August 12, 2009
EFSA has launched for public consultation a Guidance on the assessment of risks deriving from pesticides for workers, operators, bystanders and, for the first time, residents. This Guidance will provide risk assessors with a tool allowing for a harmonised evaluation and more precise estimates on the risk of exposure to pesticides.
EFSA’s
Panel on Plant protection products and their
residues (PPR) proposed a series of changes
to current practices in the evaluation of
exposure to pesticides through skin contact
and inhalation. In particular, it introduced
an additional risk assessment for those
plant protection products (PPPs) where
toxicity could arise from acute exposure
(over a single day). The Panel said that
this assessment will require the
specification of a new toxicological
reference value: an Acute Acceptable
Operator Exposure Level (AAOEL). This can be
used as a reference for realistic estimates
of exposure in a single day for operators,
workers and bystanders. There is no need for
a separate acute risk assessment for
residents, as this will be covered by the
acute risk assessment for bystanders.
EFSA’s PPR Panel specified that these
changes will allow better protection of
these groups through the improvement of the
current method of risk assessment and of the
statistical estimates of exposure scenarios.
The availability of a harmonised model will
ensure consistency between the approaches
adopted by regulatory authorities at EU
level. In addition, the Panel listed a
series of options corresponding to various
levels of protection that risk managers may
take into consideration when regulating the
safe use of PPPs. The draft document
recommends further research to reduce
current uncertainties for those scenarios
where exposure estimates are least reliable.
For some scenarios, the available data on
exposure are particularly limited, and there
would be value in further research to
improve the knowledge base (e.g. worker
exposure studies for crop inspection
scenarios, especially for cereals, and for
post-harvest activities such as packing
vegetables).
This opinion of the PPR Panel on
“Preparation of a Guidance Document on
Pesticide Exposure Assessment for Workers,
Operators, Bystanders and Residents” is now
available on EFSA’s website for public
consultation and comments until 15 September
2009. All interested parties are invited to
submit their comments which will be taken
into account to finalise the opinion by
spring 2010. The opinion will be part of the
first Guidance document of this kind for use
in regulatory risk assessment of plant
protection products in the European Union
(EU), which will be finalised by the
European Commission and Member States.
EFSA has
initiated this work in support of the
implementation of the EU Directive 91/414.
The full text of the Directive.
More information on EFSA’s
work in the area of pesticides.