Proposed revision of the higher tier testing requirements for EPPO Standard PP1/170: Test methods for evaluating the side-effects of plant protection products on honeybees

contribution to session I  Regulatory issues Background: Regulatory evaluations for the effects of pesticides on honeybees in the EU are based on the honeybee test guidelines and risk assessment scheme of the European Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO). While this is considered to be robust and effective, it is also recognised that a continuous process of review and appropriate development is necessary. A working group of the International Commission for Plant-Bee Relationships (ICPBR) had been set up to review the current guidance set out in the EPPO PP1/170 standard for higher tier testing i.e. semi-field (cage) test and full field studies. The aim of this group was to utilise the considerable experience obtained with honey bee testing. This paper presents the working group’s proposed revision to the EPPO standard PP1/170, taking into account feedback received from the 10th ICPBR Symposium in Bucharest.Results: The primary aim of the group has been to produce guidance that is sufficiently detailed yet suitably flexible so that it enables tests to be conducted and evaluated without being too prescriptive. In particular, it recognises that higher tier testing may arise as a result of various initial concerns e.g. adult toxicity, brood effects and systemic toxicity. The guidance is designed to provide the different emphasis that is required to meet the specific requirements of individual studies. Conclusion: The revision of higher tier testing for honeybees presented in this paper is proposed as an update to the current EPPO PP1/170 standard.Keywords: honey bees, test guidelines, higher tier, semi-field (cage) tests, field tests

1.21 Improving pesticide regulation by use of impact analyses: A case study for bees

When changes to regulatory guidance for risk assessment are proposed it is necessary to undertake an impact analysis to assess whether they bring the desired improvement to a risk assessment and reliability of the outcomes to inform decision making. In particular impact analyses should estimate the chances of getting both false negative (concluding low risk where more research is needed) and false positive outcomes (concluding high risks where the product is of low risk). Such analyses are also used to inform on future product development costs and workload for regulatory authorities. In this paper, we present the findings from an impact analysis conducted on the proposed EFSA bee guidance document (2013) and discuss whether the proposed guidance would provide for a cost effective and tiered approach toward the protection of bees due to the potential risks posed by the use of plant protection products. Following on from this a second impact assessment is presented based on new data generated by ECPA member companies regarding the assessment of chronic risk to bees. Critical areas are discussed and suggestions for the improvement of assess the risk assessment for plant protection products (PPP) to bees are presented.When changes to regulatory guidance for risk assessment are proposed it is necessary to undertake an impact analysis to assess whether they bring the desired improvement to a risk assessment and reliability of the outcomes to inform decision making. In particular impact analyses should estimate the chances of getting both false negative (concluding low risk where more research is needed) and false positive outcomes (concluding high risks where the product is of low risk). Such analyses are also used to inform on future product development costs and workload for regulatory authorities. In this paper, we present the findings from an impact analysis conducted on the proposed EFSA bee guidance document (2013) and discuss whether the proposed guidance would provide for a cost effective and tiered approach toward the protection of bees due to the potential risks posed by the use of plant protection products. Following on from this a second impact assessment is presented based on new data generated by ECPA member companies regarding the assessment of chronic risk to bees. Critical areas are discussed and suggestions for the improvement of assess the risk assessment for plant protection products (PPP) to bees are presented

Thermal conductivity and diffusivity of carbon‐reinforced polyetherketoneketone composites

Heat transfer properties play an important role in processing of polyetherketoneketone (PEKK)/carbon fiber (CF) composites. Accordingly, thermal conductivity and diffusivity of PEKK, PEKK/glassy carbon (GC), and PEKK/CF composites have been studied. Observed increase in conductivity and diffusivity with carbon filler addition was analyzed using the Maxwell–Eucken model. PEKK/GC composites with low carbon fraction indicated good fitting experimental points of the model, indicating good dispersion of particles. For PEKK/CF composites, the thermal conductivity and diffusivity increase is a reflection of a decrease in porosity. Results as observed from the model points to a homogenous dispersion within the PEKK/CF composites as well

Weeds in the treated field - a realistic scenario for pollinator risk assessment?

In July 2013 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released its final guidance on the risk assessment of plant protection products (PPPs) to bees1. One objective of the guidance was to produce a simple and cost effective first tier risk assessment scheme to ensure that the appropriate level of protection is achieved. However, recent impact analyses have indicated that the first tier of this risk assessment does not act effectively as a screen for compounds of low risk to bees. For example substances showing no toxicity to bees often fail the tier 1 risk assessment based on a worst-case exposure to flowering weeds inside the treated field. If realistic farming practices (e.g. tillage and herbicide applications) are considered, weeds are not usually prevalent in arable fields. It is therefore suggested that the scenarios in the guidance could be considered overly conservative and in some instances unrealistic. The EFSA guidance states that if <10% of the area of use is flowering weeds then the exposure route is not relevant in the 90th %ile case, and thus does not need to be considered. However, despite this, the option to generate data or refine assessments based on available data is questioned as no guidance for the assessment of the abundance of weeds is available. As part of an industry-led initiative we present and discuss the use of empirical evidence (i.e. occurrence and growth stage of weeds in control plots from herbicide efficacy field trials conducted for regulatory submission) to illustrate that the scenarios in the guidance document could be modified using currently available data to create a more effective tier 1 risk assessment and still ensure that the appropriate level of protection is achieved. We have demonstrated here that less than 2% of all weeds recorded in arable crop trials (represented here by wheat, oilseed rape, sugar beet, sunflower, potatoes, maize, peas and beans) are at a flowering growth stage; therefore in arable crops the flowering weeds scenario is not applicable for the 90th %ile exposure. For permanent crop trials (represented here by orchards and vines) 37% of weeds were recorded at a flowering growth stage. When the attractiveness and density data are considered, the percentage of attractive, flowering weeds which cover >10% of the ground area is only 12.3%, indicating that for permanent crops further investigation may be required as to whether this scenario is relevant

Toxic marine microalgae and shellfish poisoning in the British isles: history, review of epidemiology, and future implications

The relationship between toxic marine microalgae species and climate change has become a high profile and well discussed topic in recent years, with research focusing on the possible future impacts of changing hydrological conditions on Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) species around the world. However, there is very little literature concerning the epidemiology of these species on marine organisms and human health. Here, we examine the current state of toxic microalgae species around the UK, in two ways: first we describe the key toxic syndromes and gather together the disparate reported data on their epidemiology from UK records and monitoring procedures. Secondly, using NHS hospital admissions and GP records from Wales, we attempt to quantify the incidence of shellfish poisoning from an independent source. We show that within the UK, outbreaks of shellfish poisoning are rare but occurring on a yearly basis in different regions and affecting a diverse range of molluscan shellfish and other marine organisms. We also show that the abundance of a species does not necessarily correlate to the rate of toxic events. Based on routine hospital records, the numbers of shellfish poisonings in the UK are very low, but the identification of the toxin involved, or even a confirmation of a poisoning event is extremely difficult to diagnose. An effective shellfish monitoring system, which shuts down aquaculture sites when toxins exceed regularity limits, has clearly prevented serious impact to human health, and remains the only viable means of monitoring the potential threat to human health. However, the closure of these sites has an adverse economic impact, and the monitoring system does not include all toxic plankton. The possible geographic spreading of toxic microalgae species is therefore a concern, as warmer waters in the Atlantic could suit several species with southern biogeographical affinities enabling them to occupy the coastal regions of the UK, but which are not yet monitored or considered to be detrimental

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Thermal conductivity, diffusivity and emissivity of Poly (EtherKetoneKetone) - Carbon composites : continious fibers and particules

L'objectif de ces recherches est l'amélioration du procédé de placement de fibre par dépose laser, appliqué à des composites Poly(EtherKetoneKetone) / fibre carbone continue. L'optimisation des paramètres de dépose implique l'étude de la stabilité de la matrice, ainsi que l'analyse du comportement thermique des composites. La conductivité et diffusivité thermiques, ainsi que l'émissivité sont les paramètres clés pour comprendre le comportement des transferts volumiques et surfacique dans ces matériaux. Des composites PEKK/particules de carbone ont été élaborés afin d'étudier l'effet de la morphologie du carbone sur les paramètres thermiques. L'émissivité des composites PEKK / fibres continues a été mesurée en comparant les radiations émises par le matériau et celle émises par un corps noir à la même température. La conductivité et la diffusivité thermiques, qui sont des paramètres intrinsèques au composite, augmentent avec le taux de charge et la température. Ces deux paramètres ont été étudiés en fonction de la Température, dans le cas de composite PEKK / fibre carbone continue et PEKK / particules de carbone pour plusieurs taux de charge.: The aim of this research is the improvement of the laser depositing fiber placement process, applied to Poly (EtherKetoneKetone) / continuous carbon fiber composites. The optimization of deposit parameters implies the investigation of the stability of the matrix and of the thermal behavior of composites. Thermal conductivity, diffusivity, and optical emissivity, are the key parameters for understanding the behavior of volume and surface conduction of composites. PEKK / carbon particle composites have been processed to study the effect of carbon morphology on thermal parameters. The emissivity of the PEKK / continuous fiber composites was measured by comparing the radiation emitted by the material with the one emitted by a black body at the same temperature. Thermal conductivity and diffusivity, which are intrinsic parameters of the composite, increase with the rate of charge and the temperature. These two parameters have been studied as a function of temperature, in the case of PEEK / continuous fibers composites and PEKK / carbon particles composites for various charge rates

Conductivité, diffusivité, émissivité thermiques de composites poly (EtherKetoneKetone) - charges carbonées : fibres continues et particules

:The aim of this research is the improvement of the laser depositing fiber placement process, applied to Poly (EtherKetoneKetone) / continuous carbon fiber composites. The optimization of deposit parameters implies the investigation of the stability of the matrix and of the thermal behavior of composites. Thermal conductivity, diffusivity, and optical emissivity, are the key parameters for understanding the behavior of volume and surface conduction of composites. PEKK / carbon particle composites have been processed to study the effect of carbon morphology on thermal parameters. The emissivity of the PEKK / continuous fiber composites was measured by comparing the radiation emitted by the material with the one emitted by a black body at the same temperature. Thermal conductivity and diffusivity, which are intrinsic parameters of the composite, increase with the rate of charge and the temperature. These two parameters have been studied as a function of temperature, in the case of PEEK / continuous fibers composites and PEKK / carbon particles composites for various charge rates.L'objectif de ces recherches est l'amélioration du procédé de placement de fibre par dépose laser, appliqué à des composites Poly(EtherKetoneKetone) / fibre carbone continue. L'optimisation des paramètres de dépose implique l'étude de la stabilité de la matrice, ainsi que l'analyse du comportement thermique des composites. La conductivité et diffusivité thermiques, ainsi que l'émissivité sont les paramètres clés pour comprendre le comportement des transferts volumiques et surfacique dans ces matériaux. Des composites PEKK/particules de carbone ont été élaborés afin d'étudier l'effet de la morphologie du carbone sur les paramètres thermiques. L'émissivité des composites PEKK / fibres continues a été mesurée en comparant les radiations émises par le matériau et celle émises par un corps noir à la même température. La conductivité et la diffusivité thermiques, qui sont des paramètres intrinsèques au composite, augmentent avec le taux de charge et la température. Ces deux paramètres ont été étudiés en fonction de la Température, dans le cas de composite PEKK / fibre carbone continue et PEKK / particules de carbone pour plusieurs taux de charge