Topical Scientific Workshop on Soil Risk Assessment

On 7-8 October, 2015 the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), in partnership with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), held a Topical Scientific Workshop on Soil Risk Assessment with academics, regulators, representatives of industry, and other stakeholders. The aim of the workshop was to develop new or improved scientific approaches in support of European regulations in this area.

Reflecting the current state of science on soil ecotoxicology, the following themes were covered: 

• Current regulatory frameworks for chemicals, including biocides and pesticides; risk assessment on soil organisms, role of screening/standard approaches and strategies for higher tier testing.
• Consideration of the commonalities and differences, including protection goals, in current regulatory schemes focussing on industrial chemicals (REACH), biocides and plant protection products, with a view to identifying synergies and developing harmonisation principles.
• Key elements of direct/indirect soil exposure according to the use patterns and technological processes (including chemicals reaching the soil through industrial and municipal waste management processes, as well as emission and exposure scenarios for pesticides and biocides resulting in soil exposure) and the subsequent environmental fate processes in soil.
• Identification of relevant ecological endpoints related to organisms exposed by soil or through soil application/deposition.
• The risk assessment of in-soil dwelling organisms and plants exposed by soil, excluding broader terrestrial environmental processes, such as secondary poisoning and risk assessment for birds and mammals.
• Combining and linking different types of information, i.e. modelling, laboratory and field evidence on ecotoxicity, exposure, persistence, bioaccumulation, bioavailability in soils, and ecosystem quality/function.
• Testing strategies applied in soil risk assessment with particular focus on higher tier studies.
• Development of new alternative approaches for soil risk assessment and applicability in a regulatory context.

Break-out group discussions focused on:

• Problem definition and conceptual model for soil risk assessment
• Environmental exposure assessment and in-soil fate processes
• Effects assessment

A full report on the workshop, together with video recordings of the main sessions, can be found on the ECHA website.