E-LEARNING AND INDIRECT RISK INDICATORS FOR A SUSTAINABLE USE OF PESTICIDES

I prodotti fitosanitari sono considerati uno dei principali strumenti di difesa contro le più rilevanti avversità che colpiscono la produzione agricola. Per garantire che il loro utilizzo sia realmente basato su principi di sostenibilità, nel 2009 l’Unione Europea ha introdotto la cosiddetta direttiva sull’Uso Sostenibile dei Pesticidi (EU 128/2009/EC) dove lo sviluppo di appropriati indicatori di rischio insieme all’implementazione di una corretta attività di formazione e sensibilizzazione sono da considerare fondamentali per ridurre l’esposizione. Per contribuire in questa direzione, in questo studio sono stati prodotti: a) un toolbox di pratici indicatori di rischio indiretti per essere utilizzati da parte delle autorità nazionali per monitorare le performance; b) un nuovo strumento e-learning (OpenTEA) di formazione e sensibilizzazione per raccogliere e condividere i più efficienti e consistenti materiali a disposizione. Questi contributi sono stati sviluppati utilizzando un approccio pragmatico basato sia su una consultazione degli stakeholders sia su un’analisi completa del rischio (usando dei modelli previsionali di esposizione e svolgendo un’indagine sistematica “sul campo”). Tutto è stato reso possibile grazie al coinvolgimento nelle attività nel centro di ricerca OPERA, un “think tank” che attraverso il suo approccio innovativo basato su costruire reti con gli stakeholders e ponti tra scienza e politica, permette il raggiungimento di soluzioni pragmatiche condivise.Pesticides are considered one of the principle tools of defence against the most relevant adversity affecting the agricultural production. To ensure that their use is really based on sustainability principle, in 2009 the European Union introduced the so called Directive on Sustainable Use of Pesticides (EU 128/2009/EC) where the establishment of appropriate risk indicators to monitor the performances together with the implementation of appropriate training and awareness raising to improve behaviours are considered fundamentals. To contribute in this direction, in this study were produced: a) a toolbox of practical indirect risk indicators to be used by EU Member States to monitor the performances; b) a new e-learning tool (OpenTEA) for training and awareness raising to collect and share the most efficient and scientifically sound training and communication material. These contributions were developed using a pragmatic approach focusing either on a complete stakeholder consultation process either on a comprehensive analysis of risk (looking at some exposure models and performing a systematic surveys “on the field”). All the process was possible getting involved in the OPERA research centre, a “think tank” that through its innovative approach based on building network among stakeholders and bridges between science and policy, allow the achievement of pragmatic and agreed solutions

Conference report on the European directive on sustainable use of plant protection products (SUD)

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Pesticidi fuori dal piatto

pesticidi fuori dal piatt

Link practical-­oriented research and education: new training tools for a sustainable use of plant protection products,

The objective of this study is to develop new training tools for operators, addressing the new legal requirements and taking into account what is already available. For this reason, the outcomes of different European and national research projects developed by the Opera Research Centre were used, involving stakeholders in the decisionmaking process, but also considering the real behaviours and perceptions of the final user

Indagine quantitativa per un uso sostenibile dei prodotti fitosanitari in viticoltura

Nel settembre 2009 l’Unione Europea ha introdotto la cosiddetta Direttiva sull’uso sostenibile dei prodotti fitosanitari (EU 128/2009/EC). La Direttiva stabilisce un fra- mework per il raggiungimento della sostenibilità attraverso una reale riduzione del rischio per la salute umana e per l’ambiente. In particolare la Direttiva si prefigge di migliorare i controlli (sia nell’uso che nella distribuzione dei prodotti fitosanitari), promuovere alternative non chimiche, incoraggiare pratiche agricole che ne adottano basse quanti- tà, stabilendo contemporaneamente un sistema trasparente per monitorare e comunicare i progres- si e i risultati raggiunti. La normativa italiana si è adeguata alla nuova Direttiva attraverso il “Piano di azione nazionale” (recepito con il Decreto Legislativo n. 150 del 14 agosto 2012) e adesso toccherà quindi alle aziende adeguarsi in maniera pratica alle nuove regole. L’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Piacenza ha voluto contribuire a questo processo di adat- tamento svolgendo un’indagine di monitoraggio in vigneto sulle modalità di utilizzo degli agrofar- maci. L’obiettivo è stato quindi quello di creare una base scientifica che faccia emergere le esigenze e le criticità del settore da mettere in condivisione delle aziende in modo che possano implementare percorsi appropriati di sostenibilità

Modelling and mitigation strategies relating to pesticide exposure for operator, worker, bystander and resident: The case of the BROWSE project

The directive on Sustainable Use of Pesticides (EU128/2009/EC) establishes a framework to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the risk and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of integrated pest management and of alternative approaches or techniques. The core idea is that in order to achieve all these objectives, it is necessary to guarantee that everyone is conscious about the risk for the human health and for the environment associated to the use of plant protection products and furthermore, that these risks are assessed by appropriate models and monitored by appropriate risk indicators. Modelling volatilisation of pesticides from treated areas, from both indoor and outdoor applications, is necessary to assess their subsequent transport downwind to potential resident and bystander locations and currently there is no model available that can be used to determine volatilisation rates on an appropriate time scale in the field, based on chemical properties of the active ingredient

SUPTraining project: development of an e-learning platform for the sustainable use of pesticides

Todesignandvalidate,incollaborationwithotherEuropeanexpertsandtwocertification organisations, a new e-learning platform to train professional users, advisors and distributors to the use of PPPs for their sustainable use in a multi-institutional EU research project funded under Erasmus+ framework • develop an useful tool to get prepared for relative national certificate test • build a common basis for any European stakeholders willing to start the process of trans- ferring the SUPTraining outputs to another contex

Stakeholder consultations and opportunities for integrating socio- behavioural factors into the pesticide risk analysis process

he pesticide risk analysis process is well regulated in the EU, especially in relation to placing on the market authorisation procedures, but in order to avoid risks for human health and environment in the use phase, information on how these substances are employed and on socio-behavioural fac- tors that can influence the exposure have to be taken into account. To better explore reasons about the gap between risk assessment and risk management, within the EU FP7 Health and Environmental Risks: Organisation, Integration and Cross-fertilisation of Scientific Knowledge (HEROIC) pro- ject, a stepwise stakeholder\u2019s consultation process was devel- oped using a mixed approach in two different phases (survey and roundtable). We elicited stakeholder views regarding fac- tors that could limit the pesticide risk assessment phase linked on how the knowledge is produced and the way the data are used in risk management and in risk communication, also taking into account qualitative factors such as responsibility, trust and behaviours, which could have impact on risk assess- ment policies. Activities deployed indicate that some changes and interaction are needed to better define the problems at the formulation stage, and the type of information risk assessor has to provide, to better inform risk manager in addressing different societal needs, to strengthen the credibility of the process of risk assessment and improve the effectiveness of policies. Integrations between disciplines may initially in- crease the complexity but in turn will provide a better and more useful estimation of the risk, reinforce transparency and drive a more efficient use of risk management resources