Risk assessment and management of herbicides: obligations of the new EU regulations

The use of plant protection products (PPPs) is important for sustainable food production. As these chemicals are deliberately released in the environment to control pest organisms, it is not surprising that they may also be harmful for non-target organisms at the same time. Therefore these products must be reviewed and authorised before commercialization. The regulatory procedures for conducting environmental risk assessments and setting risk mitigation measures in the European Union and at member-state level are outlined in this paper. New legislation will apply from 2011 with the goal of harmonizing the aforementioned procedures even more. Setting of risk mitigation measures is important for the safe use of PPPs. Whereas under the new regulation for the authorisation of PPPs specific restrictions will be imposed, more general measures not related to single compounds are to be taken in accordance with a new directive for the sustainable use of pesticides. Consistent approaches need to be developed by using the advantages of both options effectively. For herbicide-tolerant genetically-modified plants risk assessment under the aforementioned but also in accordance with the genetically modified organism legislation are to be conducted. A few problems which may arise are discussed.