New developments in environmental fate and exposure assessment in the EU pesticide regulatory process

The paper discusses key aspects of the European Union (EU) regulatory policy for environmental exposure assessment of agricultural pesticide active substances (a.s.) in soil and water, which is examined in the context of the EU Authorisations Directive (91/414/EEC). For agricultural pesticide regulation within EU Member States (MS), the Authorisations Directive will gradually replace existing national systems. Discussion is concentrated on this directive, looking in particular at the Uniform Principles therein and the possible ways that these decision-making guidelines are being developed into a workable regulatory framework. The aim in this process of negotiated development involving the Member States, the Agrochemical Industry and the European Commission (EC), is to identify any questions or data requirements that will be needed for agricultural pesticides.