PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS AND BIOCIDES

The overall objectives of the BTSF Training Programme on Pesticide application equipment are:

• Increase knowledge and awareness of EU regulations concerning inspection and calibration of pesticides application equipment (Sustainable Use Directive, Machine Directive, ISO standards for inspection of PAEs, ISO standards for new sprayer’s requirements, etc.).
• Ensure a complete and better understanding on the field of inspections and calibrations of PAEs.
• Provide main guidelines and clear procedures on important aspects of calibration and maintenance of PAEs.
• Promote uniformity and harmonization of inspection procedures along MS of UE and networking among participants.
• Demonstrate the benefits (technical, economic and environmental) of the inspection procedure together with a proper calibration method.
• Ensure a harmonized, practical and suitable training process for staff in charge of the organization of inspector’s training activities in Europe.
• Keep participants updated with the latest developments in the spray application technologies.
• Sharing country’s experiences and knowledge.

The course addresses the following topics:

Module 1

• General approaches to risks evaluation: difference between hazard and risk and the pesticide risk assessment evaluation approach, effects evaluation on non-target organism, exposure assessment, the significance of the relationship between effects and exposure, the importance of risk characterization.
• General approaches and current state of knowledge to defining end points and other criteria related to intrinsic characteristic of the active ingredients and the dose that could express an effect on humans and non-target organism.
• General approaches on chemical, physical characteristic that influence the fate of a chemical and current state of knowledge on multimedia fate models to define and to understand the fate and behavior of a pesticide active ingredient and to predict a concentration in soil air and water (exposure).
• General approach in defining the non-target organism, the food chain, the bioaccumulation and biomagnification, the ecosystems and examples of risk characterization.
• The exposure sources: Point Source Contamination and Diffuse Source Contamination.

Module 2

• The EU legislative framework on pesticide risk evaluation and sustainability including the pesticide package, information on IPM and the different methodologies available and the link with other regulations as the WFD (the Directive 2000/60/EC).
• An analysis and exchange on risk assessment methodologies applied at national level for the assessment of plant protection products and authorizations process will be performed. Participants will be asked, after the confirmation of the course participation, to respond to a questionnaire prepared by the trainers’ staff, on this subject in order to share the data that will emerge and discuss the differences between the various approaches, and the limit of harmonization.

Module 3

• Evaluation of the exposure and the mitigation measure applicable.
• The decision supporting systems available to prevent environmental contamination after a pesticide treatment and the comparative management assessment.
• Diagnostic tools of run off in different contexts.
• Drift diagnosis tools: machine calibration and SDRT related reduction percentages from MAgPie and Mitigation Measure for drift limitation in different contexts.
• Level of risk reduction degree of the principal mitigation measure applied in risk assessment to obtain safe use and the link with MAgPie evaluation.
• Pesticide label reading and mitigation measure label evaluation, safe and risk phrases.
• Inventory of the mitigation measure in MAgPie, the evaluation of their efficacy taking into account the additional effect of more than one mitigation, the diversity of the tools developed and implemented throughout European countries, as well as the number of regulatory frameworks to which they relate or with which they may overlap.
• An analysis and exchange on the mitigation measure applicability in different context will be developed. A case study will be presented and working group will be organized in order to analyse different situation in different context and culture.

The course addresses the following topics:

Module 1

• General approaches to risks evaluation. Difference between hazard and risk and the risk assessment evaluation approach: effects evaluation, exposure assessment, the significance of the relationship between effects and exposure, the importance of risk characterization.
• General approaches to defining end points and other criteria related to intrinsic characteristic of the active ingredients and the dose that could express an effect on human.
• General approaches to defining the chemical and physical characteristic leading an understanding of the fate and behaviour of a pesticide active ingredient and the movement of a chemicals and to predict a concentration (exposure) in different environmental compartments after its distribution.
• The differences between Point Source Contamination and Diffuse Source Contamination.

Module 2

• The EU legislative framework on pesticide risk evaluation and sustainability including the pesticide package, information on IPM and the different methodologies available and the link with other regulations as the WFD (the Directive 2000/60/EC).
• An analysis and exchange on risk assessment methodologies applied at national level for the assessment of plant protection products and authorizations process will be performed.
• Participants will be asked, after the confirmation of the course participation, to respond to a questionnaire prepared by the trainers’ staff, on this subject in order to share the data that will emerge and discuss the differences between the various approaches, and the limit of harmonization.

Module 3

• Human exposure evaluation and mitigation measure for different target.
• Option to refine the modelling assumptions from conservative default parameters to more realistic conditions.
• General approaches for Consumer risk exposure assessment, current state of knowledge and tools.
• General approaches for occupational exposure assessment to pesticides, current state of knowledge and outlook for prevention and protection including Pesticide Protection Equipment. Evaluation of different sources of exposure and procedures for the legal and safe:
• Storage and handling of plant protection products, the preparation of the mixture, washing of containers and equipment after treatment, disposal of wastewater and packaging, following the “on farm life circle management” and the MagPie toolbox of measure where available.
• General approach on non-occupational exposure. As a consequence of the Sustainable Use Directive, Member States are required to develop specific measures to minimize also non-occupational exposure to pesticides others than consumer. The EFSA model and the recent Scientific Opinion of the PPR Panel on the follow-up of the findings of the External Scientific Report “Literature review of epidemiological studies linking exposure to pesticides and health effects” will be presented and discussed.
• Pesticide label reading and label mitigation measure evaluation, safe and risk phrases.