A european perspective on ecological risk assessment, illustrated by pesticide registration procedures in the united kingdom

Abstract

This paper reviews some of the principles and critical issues for ecological risk assessment applied to the effects of chemical contaminants, using pesticide registration in the United Kingdom as an example. This subject is topical in Europe due to initiatives for harmonization of registration procedures in the European Community, and recent advances in technical aspects of risk assessment. A distinction is drawn between contamination arising from deliberate, planned releases and accidental releases. In both cases, the emphasis is on the development of consistent yet flexible decision‐making procedures in which uncertainty is recognized and a role for expert judgment preserved. This approach allows for risk assessment tailored to the characteristics of particular chemicals and to the purposes of the assessment. A set of 10 issues that are important in the design and operation of decision‐making procedures is discussed. An outline is given of the way in which these procedures have been incorporated into a new scheme for the assessment of the environmental effects of plant protection products by the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) and the Council of Europe. Criteria for deciding the acceptability of proposed chemical uses are described. Finally, some likely future developments for ecological risk assessment procedures in this field are discussed. Copyright © 1992 SETAC