In the UK, the authorisation of plant protection products (PPPs) involves conducting a comprehensive suite of tests on ecotoxicology, fate, and behaviour in the environment. After authorisation, plant protection products may be used for specific applications. Although these prospective risk assessment approaches are established, there is a growing call for improved post authorisation monitoring to understand plant protection product fate and exposure in the environment to supplement that done in other media (i.e., food).
This report has a number of aims:
• A literature review of existing PPP terrestrial monitoring schemes to inform the development of any new proposals
• Use of information from the literature review and elsewhere to undertake an initial selection of monitoring activities that may be suitable components of an over-arching, post-registration monitoring scheme for PPPs
• Development of a proposed monitoring scheme that involved workshops with key technical specialists to understand how to enhance existing monitoring activities and platforms, improve potential for join up of reporting, and to identify gaps in monitoring as well as stakeholder engagement
• Consideration of potential costs of a holistic monitoring scheme
A number of schemes were identified that could contribute to the proposed monitoring scheme and these are discussed in the report.
Specific issues identified included:
• The establishment of baseline datasets for some components of the proposed monitoring scheme and the status of baseline datasets where they already existed.
• The power to detect change of the monitoring in the various proposed components should be established based on baseline datasets to facilitate communication of sensitivity to change
• Timely and transparent reporting of data with balanced and contextual interpretation