In this post we will gain an insight into the views of our AgChem Forum speakers: What they think are the most exciting developments within the agrochemical field; which aspect of their roles they find the most challenging; and, what they are most looking forward to about this year’s conference in Barcelona.
Firstly, we talked with Mark Miles, Regulatory Ecotoxicologist, Field Exposure & Effects, from Dow AgroSciences:
What is the most exciting development within environmental safety of the agrochemical field at present?
Risk management and mitigation developments have a lot of potential to improve safety and allow the continued use of essential products and improve overall safety. These include the use of low drift nozzles, seeding equipment that elimiate dust, vegetated strips to reduce run-off and agri-environment schemes which encourage wildfire and provide habitat for insects and plant species. There is a great potential for the use of such technology and schemes to provide farm-level risk management for agrochemicals.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
A major challenge is in keeping up with the continually moving regulatory goal posts and the ever increasing work load that these inevitably lead to. And then trying to work with others in the same situation in authorities and companies. One of the most frustrating parts is that we are overburdened and do not have the time to look to future needs and developments.
Our next speaker is Lars Niemann from the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Germany:
What is the most exciting development within environmental safety of the agrochemical field at present?
I think it is the integration of innovative molecular and biochemical methods into “classical” toxicological test strategies. Of course the real predictive value of findings obtained with the new methods must be scrutinised. If such a value can be proven (what is often not the case yet), they will contribute a lot to risk assessment of chemicals. In any case, they will broaden our knowledge and understanding of modes and mechanisms of action.
Which recommended reading articles do you suggest for your talk?
I suggest that people who are particularly interested in the dermal absorption issue might read the following new regulatory background documents:
- EFSA (2012): Guidance on Dermal Absorption. Scientific opinion. EFSA Journal, 10 (4), 2665-2695.
- OECD (2011): Guidance Notes on Dermal Absorption. Series on Testing and Assessment, No. 156, 18 August 2011. ENV/JM/MONO(2011)36. To be found on the OECD website.
We next spoke with Dr. Lennart Weltie, Crop Protection, Ecotoxicology, BASF, Germany:
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Coping with the lack of harmonisation in Europe regarding exposure and risk assessment refinements under very tight timelines.
Which presentations are you most looking forward to attenfing in Barcelona?
- On the zonal authorisation procedure and on modelling
Dr. Bernd Brielbeck from SCC Scientific Consulting Company GmbH shared his views and experiences with 1107/2009:
Have your experiences with 1107/2009 been postiive so far? What impact do you think this regulation will have on the agrochemical industry?
We have submitted dossiers under 1107/2009, but it is too early yet for a final conclusion on advantages and disadvantages. At a national level, i.e. the zonal approach, we see that rules are becoming tighter and stricter than before because the MS are also trying to adhere to the timelines set for them. Most important impact we think 1107/2009 will have is a further reduction of registered active substance. It will certainly increase the complexity of the submitting applications by setting stricter and tighter deadlines.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Putting together the scientific expertise and the regulatory requirements
Finally we heard from Jos Boesten, Scientific Researcher, Alterra, WUR, The Netherlands:
What is the most exciting development within environmental safety of the agrochemical field at present?
Increased use of GIS methods for assessing exposure in the environment.
Which presentations are you most looking forward to attenfing in Barcelona?
Ecological modelling in pesticide risk assessment by Walter Schmidt and Industry response to soil risk assessment: Fate/Exposure by G. Goerlitz.
For the full interviews and a speaker recommended reading list, please visit our website.
