According to the study performed by the University of Koblenz-Landau researchers, based on inadequate evaluation models, the EU is progressing with the approval of pesticides for treating insect infestation.
The study shows that water resources have concentrations of insecticides that are often more when compared to theoretic calculation of the same. The approval process is based on this detail. The procedure has to be entirely revised and re-analyzed for protection of surface waters.
Pesticides sprayed over fields sometimes enter the rivers and oceans through rain, negatively impacting flora and fauna. The legally established approval process will enable the EU to resolve the effects of pesticides. FOCUS models have been used for detecting concentrations of pesticides in water resources. In Europe, approval of pesticide is achieved only when the predicted concentrations fall under the thresholds of ecologically critical effect.
Based on the analysis of harmful insecticides, the Institute for Environmental Sciences in Landau has tested this process. The calculated values were evaluated against the predicted values in 122 cases. The actual pollution of the water resources was found to be higher than measured; more with new insecticides.
The alteration in calculations was due to various other factors, besides faulty calculation models.
It is safe to increase the predicted environmental concentrations of insecticides in scope of the approval process, by factor of ten for adequate protection of water resources. A buffer strip of 5-10 m extending from fields to water bodies unused for agricultural purposes can also serve the purpose. This was not added in revision of the plant protection act in Germany in 2011 end.
The existing regulations for validating the implementation of agricultural pesticide in the EU was revised only in 2009 and was also included in German national law through a new version of the plant protection act.
Source: http://www.uni-koblenz-landau.de/
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