Perceptions of pesticides exposure risks by operators, workers, residents and bystanders in Greece, Italy and the UK.

The EU Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides (EU128/2009/EC) requires European Member States to develop training activities targeting occupational exposure to pesticides, and communication material aimed at residents and bystanders. Risk perceptions, knowledge and attitudes associated with passive and occupational exposure to pesticide potentially influence the extent to which different stakeholders adopt self-protective behaviour. A methodology for assessing the link between attitudes, adoption of self-protective behaviours and exposure was developed and tested. A survey was implemented in the Greece, Italy and the UK, and targeted stakeholders associated with pesticide exposure linked to orchards, greenhouse crops and arable crops respectively. The results indicated that the adoption of protective measures is low for residents and bystanders, with the exception of residents in Greece, when compared to operators and workers, who tend to follow recommended safety practices. A regression analysis was used to examine the factors affecting the probability of adopting protective measures as well the as the level of exposure in the case of operators and workers where data are available. The results indicate that the likelihood of engaging in self-protective behaviour is not significantly affected by perceptions of own health being affected by pesticides for residents and bystanders. However, operators who perceive that their heath has been negatively affected by the use of pesticides are found to be more likely to adopt self-protective behaviours. Gender and country differences, in perceptions, attitudes and self-protection are also observed. Recommendations for improved communication, in particular for vulnerable groups, are provided.

Perspectives for integrating human and environmental risk assessment and synergies with socio-economic analysis.

For more than a decade, the integration of human and environmental risk assessment (RA) has become an attractive vision. At the same time, existing European regulations of chemical substances such as REACH (EC Regulation No. 1907/2006), the Plant Protection Products Regulation (EC regulation 1107/2009) and Biocide Regulation (EC Regulation 528/2012) continue to ask for sector-specific RAs, each of which have their individual information requirements regarding exposure and hazard data, and also use different methodologies for the ultimate risk quantification. In response to this difference between the vision for integration and the current scientific and regulatory practice, the present paper outlines five medium-term opportunities for integrating human and environmental RA, followed by detailed discussions of the associated major components and their state of the art. Current hazard assessment approaches are analyzed in terms of data availability and quality, and covering non-test tools, the integrated testing strategy (ITS) approach, the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) concept, methods for assessing uncertainty, and the issue of explicitly treating mixture toxicity. With respect to exposure, opportunities for integrating exposure assessment are discussed, taking into account the uncertainty, standardization and validation of exposure modeling as well as the availability of exposure data. A further focus is on ways to complement RA by a socio-economic assessment (SEA) in order to better inform about risk management options. In this way, the present analysis, developed as part of the EU FP7 project HEROIC, may contribute to paving the way for integrating, where useful and possible, human and environmental RA in a manner suitable for its coupling with SEA.

SPEAR indicates pesticide effects in streams--comparative use of species- and family-level biomonitoring data.

To detect effects of pesticides on non-target freshwater organisms the Species at risk (SPEAR(pesticides)) bioindicator based on biological traits was previously developed and successfully validated over different biogeographical regions of Europe using species-level data on stream invertebrates. Since many freshwater biomonitoring programmes have family-level taxonomic resolution we tested the applicability of SPEAR(pesticides) with family-level biomonitoring data to indicate pesticide effects in streams (i.e. insecticide toxicity of pesticides). The study showed that the explanatory power of the family-level SPEAR(fm)(pesticides) is not significantly lower than the species-level index. The results suggest that the family-level SPEAR(fm)(pesticides) is a sensitive, cost-effective, and potentially European-wide bioindicator of pesticide contamination in flowing waters. Class boundaries for SPEAR(pesticides) according to EU Water Framework Directive are defined to contribute to the assessment of ecological status of water bodies.

Biochemical responses in Salmo salar muscle following exposure to ethynylestradiol and tributyltin.

This study investigated the effects of nominal concentrations of two endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on fish physiology. The effects of the synthetic pharmaceutical estrogen ethynylestradiol (EE(2)) and the antifoulant tributyltin (TBT) were investigated in exposure studies with immature Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Fish were exposed for 7 days to waterborne EE(2), TBT, or a combination of both. The activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and glutathione S-transferase (GST), and lactate and glycogen content were determined in samples of fish muscle. Fish exposed to EE(2) for 3 days responded rapidly with increasing AchE and GST activities and increasing lactate content. These responses were limited to the first 3 days of exposure and had disappeared by day 7, indicating that the fish had adapted to EE(2) exposure. Compared to the controls, TBT increased AchE and LDH activity, inhibited GST activity and had no effect on lactate content. When mixed, the highest concentration of EE(2) increased the effect of TBT on lactate content. However, fish exposed to a lower concentration of EE(2) in combination with TBT had the lowest lactate content. Effects on AchE and LDH activities were smaller when TBT was combined with EE(2) compared to TBT alone. This suggests that TBT and EE(2) influence biochemical processes in fish muscle, acting on different organizational levels, by antagonistic and synergistic mechanisms.

Effect of surface waxes on the persistence of chlorpyrifos-methyl in apples, strawberries and grapefruits.

The effects of the cuticle and epicuticular waxes of grapefruit, strawberry and apple on the photodegradation and penetration of chlorpyrifos-methyl were studied. Photodegradation experiments were conducted by exposing the insecticide to the light of a xenon lamp in the presence of a film of wax extracted from the fruit surface. The half-life of chlorpyrifos-methyl irradiated in absence of waxes was 9.6 min. The half-lives of pesticide irradiated in the presence of wax extracts of apple, grapefruit and strawberry were 83, 34 and 26 min, respectively. In penetration studies, fruit with and without wax layers were treated with an aqueous suspension of pesticide. The penetration of the pesticide from the cuticle to the pulp was measured after 24 h. Samples without wax contained a higher total amount of insecticide than those with wax. No pesticide was detected in samples of apple and grapefruit pulp. Residues were detected in all fractions of strawberry. The waxes and cuticle appear to have some effect on the photodegradation and penetration of chlorpyrifos-methyl in fruit samples.

Copper content of grape and wine from Italian farms.

The copper content of grape and wine from 16 wine-farms in Italy was studied during the harvest of 2003. The influence of the number of copper applications, the period between the last application and harvest, and the total amount of copper applied was examined. Of the total number of samples analysed, 13% of grape samples and 18% of wine samples exceeded the maximum residue level (MRL). The total amount of copper applied and the number of days between the last application and harvest explained 44% of the concentration of copper in grape. This low correlation may be due to other influencing factors, such as meteorology and the application method. In 2003, conditions were unusually dry and the recommended safety interval for copper application (20 days) was not sufficient to guarantee a residue level in grape below the MRL (20 mg kg(-1)). In order to reduce the probability of copper residues being close to the MRL, a period of 40-50 days between the last application and harvest is suggested. Furthermore, the copper content of grape and wine was not dependent on the pest management strategy of the farm (conventional, integrated or organic). A more important factor influencing copper residue levels may be that copper applications are made in response to the prediction of a disease outbreak rather than being dependent on the pest management strategy in place. No difference in copper content was observed between red and white grape or wine.

Copper bioavailability in the rhizosphere of maize (Zea mays L.) grown in two Italian soils.

In this study, potentially bioavailable copper was estimated in two soils (a fungicide polluted and a natural soil) using a passive sampling technique, DGT. As plants can alter copper mobility and bioavailability in the soil, the rhizosphere properties of Zea mays L. were investigated using rhizoboxes. Compared to the total concentration, the soluble and the potentially bioavailable copper concentration in the bulk soils were generally low (less than 0.20% and 0.06% respectively), with a sixfold increase in the rhizosphere of the polluted soil. Our results suggest that maize cultivation in a polluted vineyard soil could increase the potentially available fraction of copper. DGTs showed a good sensitivity to soil properties and to root-induced changes in the rhizosphere, but the potentially bioavailable copper could not be related to the copper concentration in the above ground parts of maize. The results suggest that DGT may be used to predict some effects of the cultivation of polluted soils, for example, metal mobility and increased availability, but they cannot mimic the uptake of a tolerant plant. For both soils, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were threefold higher in the rhizosphere than in the bulk soil, whilst bioaccumulation in leaves and roots was not significant. DOC production, usually effective in ion mobilization and assimilation, may help also in the reduction of Cu uptake at toxic concentrations. The sequestration of available Cu in soil and soil solution by DOC seems to contribute to maize tolerance.

Fate of diuron and linuron in a field lysimeter experiment.

The environmental fate of herbicides can be studied at different levels: in the lab with disturbed or undisturbed soil columns or in the field with suction cup lysimeters or soil enclosure lysimeters. A field lysimeter experiment with 10 soil enclosures was performed to evaluate the mass balance in different environmental compartments of the phenylurea herbicides diuron [3-(3,4-diclorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl-urea] and linuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methoxy-1-methylurea]. After application on the agricultural soil, the herbicides were searched for in soil, pore water, and air samples. Soil and water samples were collected at different depths of the soil profile and analyzed to determine residual concentrations of both the parent compounds and of their main transformation products, to verify their persistence and their leaching capacity. Air volatilization was calculated using the theoretical profile shape method. The herbicides were detected only in the surface layer (0-10 cm) of soil. In this layer, diuron was reduced to 50% of its initial concentration at the end of the experiment, while linuron was still 70% present after 245 d. The main metabolites detected were DCPMU [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methylurea] and DCA (3,4-dichloroaniline). In soil pore water, diuron and linuron were detected at depths of 20 and 40 cm, although in very low concentrations. Therefore the leaching of these herbicides was quite low in this experiment. Moreover, volatilization losses were inconsequential. The calculated total mass balance showed a high persistence of linuron and diuron in the soil, a low mobility in soil pore water (less than 0.5% in leachate water), and a negligible volatilization effect. The application of the Pesticide Leaching Model (PELMO) showed similar low mobility of the chemicals in soil and water, but overestimated their volatilization and their degradation to the metabolite DCPMU. In conclusion, the use of soil enclosure lysimeters proved to be a good experimental design for studying mobility and transport processes of herbicides in field conditions.

Nonpoint-source agricultural hazard index: a case study of the province of cremona, Italy.

This paper reports the results of a study aimed at the evaluation of the hazard level of farming activities in the province of Cremona, Italy, with particular reference to groundwater. The applied methodology employs a parametric approach based on the definition of potential hazard indexes (nonpoint-source agricultural hazard indexes, NPSAHI). Two categories of parameters were considered: the hazard factors (HF), which represent all farming activities that cause or might cause an impact on groundwater (use of fertilizers and pesticides, application of livestock and poultry manure, food industry wastewater, and urban sludge), and the control factors (CF), which adapt the hazard factor to the characteristics of the site (geographical location, slope, agronomic practices, and type of irrigation). The hazard index (HI) can be calculated multiplying the hazard factors by the control factors and, finally, the NPSAHI are obtained dividing HI into classes on a percentile basis using a scale ranging from 1 to 10. Organization, processing, and display of all data layers were performed using the geographical information system (GIS) ArcView and its Spatial Analyst extension. Results show that the potential hazard of groundwater pollution by farming activities in the province of Cremona falls mainly in the fifth class (very low hazard).

Potential operator exposure to procymidone in greenhouses.

Recent legislation in the European Union requires regulators of member states to carry out risk assessments using data for actual or potential operator exposure, or estimates of exposure from models. However, the existing models have few datasets from studies carried out on greenhouse or indoor crops, particularly in southern Europe. In this study potential dermal and inhalatory exposures were measured in two trials in Italian greenhouses. The total potential dermal operator exposure of the applicator, measured with a whole-body passive dosimetry method, was 15.4 and 37.1 mL/h of the diluted pesticide mixture. The majority of the contamination was on the hands and on the lower part of the coverall. Approximately 0. 003% of the active ingredient (ai) applied to the crop area contaminated the coverall worn by the operator. The potential dermal exposure during the mixing and loading phase accounted for 6-8% of the total potential dermal exposure during the whole process. Inhalation exposure accounted for only 0.05-0.07% of the total potential operator exposure. Model predictions of the potential operator exposure using a modified version of the German model overestimate the mixing-loading exposure while underestimating the application exposure. These data are evidence that the estimation coefficient set for hand-held application to ornamental and horticultural crops may be inadequate for the agronomic conditions of southern Europe.