The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has announced that it is launching a public consultation on its draft guidance to assess the risks from exposure to pesticides for operators, workers, residents and bystanders.
For the first time, the guidance sets out a harmonised methodology and presents a tool for calculating non-dietary exposure to pesticides – that is, inhalation or absorption through the skin – for the groups involved.
The guidance builds on EFSA's previous work in this area, and, importantly, it addresses issues raised by the European Commission and Member States following publication of the original scientific opinion in 2010.
EFSA says that it will help risk assessors and industry applicants calculate the risk to those who are exposed to pesticides through their work or physical proximity, including areas such as fields or greenhouses.
The four groups include operators such as farming professionals or home garden users, workers who handle crops or are employed in areas treated with chemicals, residents living, working or attending school nears areas where pesticides are used, and bystanders who may be in or next to areas using pesticides.
EFSA has also developed a calculator that draws on available data to help risk assessors and applicants carry out exposure assessments, drawing on key inputs such as pesticide name, formulation type and where it is applied to give real-time estimates of non-dietary exposure under specific conditions for each of the four population groups.
Stakeholders and all interested parties are invited to provide feedback through the online public consultation by 20 May 2014. Comments made during the consultation will be assessed by EFSA and, where appropriate, incorporated into the final guidance document.
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