Experts discuss how to further standardise the assessment for safe use of plant protection products

Assessment of the health risks posed to operators and uninvolved third parties during and after application of plant protection products is to be further standardised in the zonal authorisation procedure within the European Union. In the opinion of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), this is an important outcome of the “European Conference on Safe Use of Plant Protection Products”, which the BfR organised together with the European Commission, Directorate General for Health and Consumers in Berlin on 18 and 19 June 2014. As an important step towards harmonisation, the new draft of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) “Guidance on the Assessment of Exposure for Operators, Workers, Residents and Bystanders in Risk Assessment of Plant Protection Products” was discussed during the conference. In addition to exposure, i.e. type and extent of absorption of active substances, the experts exchanged views on additional aspects relevant to the assessment such as standardised derivation of the amount of active substance potentially absorbed through the skin and better harmonised measures to minimise risks. The more than 50 participants represented the European Commission, EFSA, and the competent authorities from the Member States and European associations.DE; en; efsa-focal-point@bfr.bund.d