Modelling and mitigation strategies relating to pesticide exposure for operator, worker, bystander and resident: The case of the BROWSE project

The directive on Sustainable Use of Pesticides (EU128/2009/EC) establishes a framework to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the risk and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of integrated pest management and of alternative approaches or techniques. The core idea is that in order to achieve all these objectives, it is necessary to guarantee that everyone is conscious about the risk for the human health and for the environment associated to the use of plant protection products and furthermore, that these risks are assessed by appropriate models and monitored by appropriate risk indicators. Modelling volatilisation of pesticides from treated areas, from both indoor and outdoor applications, is necessary to assess their subsequent transport downwind to potential resident and bystander locations and currently there is no model available that can be used to determine volatilisation rates on an appropriate time scale in the field, based on chemical properties of the active ingredient.