The study aimed to assess the occurrence and the environmental risk of a group of 51 selected pesticides in the Guadiana Basin (a biodiversity hotspot, in the Mediterranean). The most abundant ...pesticides were bentazone and 2,4-D, while terbuthylazine together with terbutryn constituted the most ubiquitous pesticides. Eighteen out of the 38 pesticides detected are no longer approved in Europe, and 5 of them are included in the list of priority substances. The risk assessment showed that azinphos ethyl, diflufenican, irganol, imidacloprid, and oxadiazon occurred occasionally, but always in concentrations above their respective ecotoxicological threshold value. Contrary, bentazone, terbuthylazine, and terbutryn presented a high risk in most of the sampled locations and periods.
The site-specific risk assessment showed a spatial and temporal pattern, with a higher risk occurring mainly in intermittent streams, in the drought period. The presence of pesticides banned from the EU market since 2009 showed the importance of improving the monitoring process, to identify the main sources of pollution and the fate of these emerging compounds. The results showed the need of implementing actions to improve the sustainable use of pesticides in agricultural areas, working with farmers and management entities to reduce the contamination of aquatic ecosystems. Transboundary water governance is also required to solve potential transboundary contamination problems.
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•Drought enhanced the impact of pesticides in the ecosystems of Guadiana Basin.•Quantified 23 European banned pesticides in the Guadiana Basin.•Of the 38 pesticides detected, 32 may have induced risk to aquatic species.•Bentazone, Terbutryn, Terbuthylazine, Chlorfenvinphos, Diazinon with high risk•Greater risk in the streams of the Guadiana Basin than in the Alqueva reservoir
Biocontrol solutions (macroorganisms, microorganisms, natural substances, semiochemicals) are presented as potential alternatives to conventional plant protection products (PPPs) because they are ...supposed to have lower impacts on ecosystems and human health. However, to ensure the sustainability of biocontrol solutions, it is necessary to document the unintended effects of their use. Thus, the objectives of this work were to review (1) the available biocontrol solutions and their regulation, (2) the contamination of the environment (soil, water, air) by biocontrol solutions, (3) the fate of biocontrol solutions in the environment, (4) their ecotoxicological impacts on biodiversity, and (5) the impacts of biocontrol solutions compared to those of conventional PPPs. Very few studies concern the presence of biocontrol solutions in the environment, their fate, and their impacts on biodiversity. The most important number of results were found for the organisms that have been used the longest, and most often from the angle of their interactions with other biocontrol agents. However, the use of living organisms (microorganisms and macroorganisms) in biocontrol brings a specific dimension compared to conventional PPPs because they can survive, multiply, move, and colonize other environments. The questioning of regulation stems from this specific dimension of the use of living organisms. Concerning natural substances, the few existing results indicate that while most of them have low ecotoxicity, others have a toxicity equivalent to or greater than that of the conventional PPPs. There are almost no result regarding semiochemicals. Knowledge of the unintended effects of biocontrol solutions has proved to be very incomplete. Research remains necessary to ensure their sustainability.
The application of synthetic pesticides to agricultural fields for the protection of crops leads to the formation of residues in soils. While the short-term behavior of pesticide residues in soils ...after an application is generally known from laboratory and field studies required for authorization (prospective risk assessments), there is still a lack of in-situ observations that address their long-term fate. Long-term soil monitoring programs, with comprehensive site-specific records of pesticide application data, constitute an invaluable, complementary, retrospective exposure assessment tool to address this gap. Considering the pesticide applications over the past 10–15 years, this study assessed the occurrence of pesticides in agricultural soils of Switzerland and put their presence or absence, as well as their concentrations, in the context of their previous application. The results showed that pesticides could also be detected at sites without a connection to previous applications and that small residual mass fractions of pesticides, even of some non-persistent compounds, were found in soils, years or decades after their last application. This finding points to an environmental issue that may not be adequately captured in prospective risk assessment and calls attention to the need for comprehensive long-term recording and monitoring as a complementary retrospective exposure assessment.
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•Soils from 31 agricultural sites were analyzed for 34 pesticides and 7 metabolites.•The presence or absence of pesticides was related to their previous application.•Pesticides were also detected at sites not associated with previous applications.•Some pesticides persisted much longer than predicted from their half-lives.•Residual mass fractions of a few % were found years after the last application.
The document Plant Protection Products 2023 gives an overview of plant protection products permitted for use in the Republic of Croatia in 2023. All plant protection products that are put in ...distribution in the Republic of Croatia must be registered with the competent authority of the Ministry of Agriculture. Information on registered plant protection products can be found on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture (the FIS Web Portal). Plant protection products are, according to their application, divided into three major groups: herbicides, fungicides and zoocides. Each group offers an overview of products according to active substances. Each plant protection product, along with a list of pests and crops for which a permit for application was obtained, includes the following information: trade name, formulation, amount of active ingredients, manufacturer and distributor, and suppression concentration or dosage. Also listed are due preharvest intervals of crops for which the application is allowed. The number of applications is given for each crop individually, eg. potato (3), which indicates three applications to the potatoes in the one growing season. Due to the numerous amendments to relevant decisions and registration procedures, plant protection products may only be used according to the instructions for use indicated on the packaging. Any application of plant protection products in any manner other than specified in the instructions for use and on the label shall be considered performed exclusively at one’s own risk.
Synthetic fibers released from sewage sludge and tire particles released from traffic are among the most common types of microplastics in soil. In soil, microplastics may interact with chemicals, ...such as plant protection products used in agriculture. Most studies on the interactions of microplastics and chemicals focused on aquatic environments and only few addressed soil arthropods. To increase the understanding of the combined effects of microplastics and chemicals on soil arthropods, we studied the effects of polyester fibers and tire particles on the toxicity of the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Springtails (Folsomia candida) and woodlice (Porcellio scaber) were exposed in Lufa 2.2 soil to a range of chlorpyrifos concentrations (0.0088–0.8 and 0.2–3.9 mg kg−1 dry soil, respectively) without or with 0.05 % w/w (“low”) or 0.5 % w/w (“high”) of microplastics. Tire particles reduced the lethality of chlorpyrifos to springtails (LC50 = 0.13–0.14 mg kg−1 dry soil) and isopods (LC50 = 1.6 mg kg−1 dry soil) by a factor of 2- > 2.5 and the chlorpyrifos-induced inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and changes in electron transfer system (ETS) activity in P. scaber by a factor of 2–4. Polyester fibers reduced the chlorpyrifos-induced inhibition of AChE activity by a factor of 2 and increased (ETS) activity in P. scaber by a factor of >3. The fibers did not affect the toxicity of chlorpyrifos to the survival of P. scaber or the survival and reproduction of F. candida. These results indicate that the bioavailability of chlorpyrifos may be decreased by microplastics, especially by tire particles. This study shows the importance of applying a mixture toxicity approach for understanding the threats of microplastics to soil, but also suggests that the organism and the endpoints chosen are crucial for the interpretation of the effects of combined exposures to microplastics and chemicals.
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•Microplastics affected the toxicity of chlorpyrifos to two soil arthropod species.•Chlorpyrifos lethality to arthropods decreased by tire particles but not by fibers.•Fibers and tire particles affected chlorpyrifos-induced biomarker changes in woodlice.•Tire particles changed chlorpyrifos effects on woodlice more than polyester fibers.•Microplastics did not affect chlorpyrifos toxicity to springtail reproduction.
Greenhouse and other covered cultivation systems have increased globally over the past several decades, leading to considerably improved product quality and productivity per land area unit. However, ...there is a paucity in information regarding the environmental impacts of covered production systems, especially regarding pesticides entering the surrounding environment. Aiming to address this knowledge gap, we collected grab samples downstream of greenhouses from seven Swedish streams every 14 days during a 12 month period. In three of the streams, samples were also taken upstream of the greenhouses and in four of the streams time-integrated samples were collected by TIMFIE samplers in the period between grab sampling occasions. The samples were analyzed for 28 substances (27 that were permitted for use in greenhouse production systems in Sweden and one degradation product to a permitted substance). Pesticide use journals were collected from the greenhouse producers for the 12 month period. The results were examined for indications of greenhouse contributions to detection frequencies, maximum and average concentrations, and potential ecotoxicicity in several ways: (1) comparing locations downstream of greenhouses with registered use of a substance with those without registered use, (2) comparing results from this study with those from the Swedish environmental monitoring program of pesticides in surface water from catchments with no greenhouses from the same period and region, (3) comparing concentration trends with registered pesticide application times in the greenhouses, and (4) comparing up- and downstream concentrations. The results strongly suggest that greenhouse applications do contribute to pesticide occurrences, maximum and median concentrations for most of the pesticides included in this study, and to potential toxicity to aquatic organisms for several of them, most notably imidacloprid, acetamiprid, carbendazim, and pirimicarb.
The increasing loss of honey bee colonies is assumed to be caused by various factors such as habitat degradation, parasites, pathogens, or the exposure to environmental pollutants like pesticides in ...agriculture practice. Different bee-related products like honey, bee bread, wax, and pollen can be contaminated by pesticides and some of them might affect colony health. Stored nectar and pollen serve as nutritional sources for nurse bees to produce food jelly for queen, worker, and drone larvae and contaminants might be transferred. For the risk assessments, it is necessary to understand the occurrences of residues in larval food jelly and to evaluate factors influencing the concentration of contaminants. This review summarizes the current literature dealing with residue analysis of pesticides in food jelly to assess the pesticide transfer, to evaluate factors influencing pesticide appearance in jelly, and to deduce risk for larvae. Previous studies determined residues of different pesticides in royal jelly, and one in worker jelly. It was demonstrated that 30 out of 176 analyzed pesticides were detectable in different royal jelly samples. If residues remain in food jelly, this is mainly related to the used application and exposure method. It is shown that an artificial exposure (e.g., by forced feeding) results in higher detectable residues compared to field-realistic exposure scenarios (e.g., spray applications on plants). All detected concentrations were predominantly below the toxicity values for honey bee larvae, but sub-lethal effects should be considered. Moreover, it was demonstrated that there are still knowledge gaps about the contamination pathway of pesticides, dilution or accumulation factors within the hive, degradation time in bee-related matrices, and the impact on larval physiology. Filling those gaps is of major importance to consider realistic exposure scenarios in the risk assessment and to allow for sufficient protection level of honey bee brood.
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•Review of current literature dealing with pesticide residues in food jelly of honey bees.•Residues are detectable in royal and worker jelly, but no information available for drone jelly.•Occurrence of residues mainly depends on application method and exposure scenario.•Limited information about contamination pathway, accumulation or degradation of pesticides within different bee matrices, and effects on larval physiology.
Delta ecosystems are areas of high ecologic and economic values, where wildlife commonly shares the territory with intensive agricultural activities, particularly, rice cultivation and seafood ...production. This work aimed at evaluating the occurrence of a wide spectrum of pesticides and transformation products in the water of irrigation and drainage channels of the Ebro River Delta (NE Spain) during the main rice-growing season, when pesticide application is at its peak. Furthermore, the impact that these contaminants may have on local ecosystems and seafood production activities was assessed. A total of 35 pesticides, mainly associated with rice cultivation, out of the 66 analyzed were detected. Bentazone, propanil, MCPA, acetamiprid, and triallate were found at the μg/L level. Cybutryne, despite being banned in the European Union, was measured for the first time in the area and at concentrations above its environmental quality standard (11–49 ng/L). Sixteen additional banned pesticides were also detected at trace levels, likely due to their desorption from soil and sediment particles. Despite its dilution when discharged into the bay, this study demonstrates that the agricultural use of pesticides may have important effects on water quality and may cause a serious hazard for aquatic non-target organisms, although other factors such as temperature and salinity may play also a relevant role. Bentazone, cybutryne, dicofol, imidacloprid, MCPA, and propanil may pose a moderate to high risk for aquatic organisms at the concentration levels measured during the rice-growing season. The co-occurrence of pesticides may result in a high risk for aquatic organisms in all sampling locations. The finding of the EU Watch List insecticides imidacloprid and acetamiprid at concentrations above their maximum acceptable method detection limit calls for control of their use and revision of their legal status.
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•Thirty-five out of 66 pesticides were detected, 17 of them currently banned for use.•Bentazone was the most ubiquitous and abundant pesticide (up to 180 μg/L).•Acidic pesticides and anilides (used to grow rice) were the most abundant pesticides.•The presence of cybutryne, imidacloprid, and acetamiprid is of concern.•The co-occurrence of pesticides may pose a high risk for non-target organisms.
Agricultural activities in delta ecosystems may pose a risk to non-target aquatic organisms. Banned pesticides may still be of relevance due to sediment desorption.
The European Union (EU) has one of the strictest pesticide policies. As one component of the regulatory framework, Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 sets harmonised maximum residue levels for pesticide ...residues in food and feed in the European Union to ensure high levels of consumer protection. Under certain circumstances, a notification in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) is released for pesticide residues exceeding a specific or a default maximum limit. Despite being a major food hazard in the European Union, no detailed analysis of notifications on pesticide residues over a longer period is available to date. Thus, an analysis of notifications on pesticide residues in food submitted in the RASFF between 2002 and 2020 was conducted. A total of 5211 notifications, including 15.8% alert notifications, 36.5% information notifications and 47.8% border rejections, were analysed with a focus on concerned products, causative pesticides and involved countries of origin. The notifications often concerned vegetables (53.8%) and fruits, tree nuts (24.2%) and reported a total of 7413 residues involving 251 pesticides in products mainly originating from third countries (82.4%), with multiple residues in 22.0% of notifications. Overall, the notifications on pesticide residues in food appear to be linked to the regulatory framework and selected risk management measures. While import controls and border rejections appear to be an effective means of protecting European consumers from non-compliant and potentially harmful products from third countries, the problem of unauthorised pesticide residues in products from EU/EFTA countries and of products not available at the time of publication in the RASFF might require further measures for food safety in the European single market.
•An analysis of RASFF notifications on pesticide residues in food was conducted.•5211 notifications on pesticide residues were released from 2002 to 2020.•The notifications often concerned vegetables (53.8%) or fruits/tree nuts (24.2%).•7413 residues of 251 pesticides were reported, often as multiple residues.•Products from third countries were involved in 82.4% of notifications.
