Supporting the development of exposure assessment scenarios for Non‐Target Terrestrial Organisms to plant protection products

For the registration of Plant Protection Products (PPP), EU Regulation 1107/2009 requires the risk assessment of several groups of non‐target terrestrial organisms (NTTOs). Currently different EU guidance documents for the risk assessment of PPPs to NTTOs including non‐target arthropods, mammals and bees are being revised. In particular, guidance on the off‐field exposure assessment was found to be inadequate or missing. To further develop this guidance, the off‐field exposure of non‐target arthropods and small mammals was characterised by defining and describing relevant environmental exposure routes like spray drift deposition, run‐off, dust drift and atmospheric deposition. The current report has a focus on spray drift, the major exposure route for off‐crop areas. Several aspects associated with spray drift deposition in a regulatory context are described. These include physical aspects, spray drift deposition curves, potential of different mitigation measures and the present regulatory practices of different EU Member States (MS) regarding spray drift deposition. Several data gaps are identified, for instance lacking spray deposition data on in‐crop and off‐crop plants as 3‐dimensional structures. Another data gap involves a clear insight in crop development stages for various crops in different MS as a function of day‐of‐year. These and other data gaps led to a list of recommendations for future investigation. Finally, a procedure is presented for developing higher tier exposure scenarios for non‐target terrestrial organisms for use in EU registration in a structured and transparent way. It is recommended to develop exposure scenarios for non‐target terrestrial organisms in the EU by a Working Group that represents the EU Member States well, covering the diverse agronomic practices and agro‐ecologic conditions. The procedure developed in this report can aid such a working group in structuring the work.