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(28-03) Regional Versus Local Scenarios for the Environmental Risk Assessment of Agrochemicals (Pesticides, Veterinary Medicines, Biocides) in the Mediterranean Area. Ramos, Carmen1, Pablos, María1, Boleas, Sara1, Ortiz, José1, Carbonell, Gregoria1, Tarazona, José*,1, 1 Laboratory for Ecotoxicology INIA, Madrid, Soain ABSTRACT- The Mediterranean area can be characterised by a set of properties related to climate, biodiversity, and other environmental conditions. Agriculture, including livestock and forest production, are obviously adapted to these conditions, which are a key element when setting realistic scenarios for the environmental risk assessment of agrochemicals used by farmers. The current EU guidelines for risk assessment of pesticides, veterinary medicines and biocides focus on generic scenarios which do not consider the specific characteristics of Mediterranean farming. Previous papers have demonstrated that these generic scenarios are mostly overprotective, but in certain cases, can be unable to identify relevant risks associated to particular exposure conditions. The basic problem regards on the geographical dimension of the risk scenario. Basically, the EU risk protocols considers as a worst case a local scenario, the farm were the pesticide or the veterinary medicine are used and the immediate vicinity. However, the assessment of a chemical to be used in crops covering large extensions within an area or an extensively used pharmaceutical requires an evaluation based on the use within the area, not on a single farm. An ad-hoc regional scenario has been developed and the basic principles are presented in this communication. The scenario is based on a river basin, were the streams suffer large seasonal fluctuations and are strongly regulated by small dams and large water reservoirs. Soil erosion becomes a key element for persistent chemicals and the biomagnification through terrestrial and aquatic food chains can be particularly relevant. This communication compares the traditional local scenarios and the regional assessment using the conditions of the Ebro River Basin as model for Mediterranean conditions. Funded partly by EU Project ERAVMIS. Key words: Scenario, Risk Assessment, Pesticides, mediterranean conditions |
