ALBERT

Description: Pesticide use is well known to be detrimental for maintaining biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. Amphibians are especially affected by these agrochemicals. In particular, these animals? high sensitivity was demonstrated for glyphosate-based herbicides which are dominating the world market today. Pesticide impacts are influenced by several co-stressors, and we for the first time link the exposure risk of amphibians to these commonly used pesticides to observed recent effects from ongoing climate change. In a simple verbal model, based on present-day data from Germany, we show that amphibian populations which have undergone phenological shift towards earlier reproduction potentially suffer less from applications of glyphosate-based herbicides compared to those which (yet) show no such reproductive shift. Although, apparently observed recent climate change effects lower the exposure risk, we advocate that amphibians are not necessarily safer now, mainly because farmers most likely will adapt their cultivation practices in the future if climate change becomes more obvious. Rather, we conclude that combining pesticide applications, climate change and phenological responses need an increased consideration in amphibian conservation. The results from our verbal model should be seen as a hypothesis that needs to be tested with specific field studies and (based on these data which are widely lacking today) more complex modelling of future exposure risk of pesticides to amphibians.

Description: Pesticide use is well known to be detrimental for maintaining biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. Amphibians are especially affected by these agrochemicals. In particular, these animals’ high sensitivity was demonstrated for glyphosate-based herbicides which are dominating the world market today. Pesticide impacts are influenced by several co-stressors, and we for the first time link the exposure risk of amphibians to these commonly used pesticides to observed recent effects from ongoing climate change. In a simple verbal model, based on present-day data from Germany, we show that amphibian populations which have undergone phenological shift towards earlier reproduction potentially suffer less from applications of glyphosate-based herbicides compared to those which (yet) show no such reproductive shift. Although, apparently observed recent climate change effects lower the exposure risk, we advocate that amphibians are not necessarily safer now, mainly because farmers most likely will adapt their cultivation practices in the future if climate change becomes more obvious. Rather, we conclude that combining pesticide applications, climate change and phenological responses need an increased consideration in amphibian conservation. The results from our verbal model should be seen as a hypothesis that needs to be tested with specific field studies and (based on these data which are widely lacking today) more complex modelling of future exposure risk of pesticides to amphibians.

Description: A combination of 20th century warfare alongside the storage of and frequent testing of munitions by various national armed forces has contributed to a legacy of unexploded ordnance, munitions, and explosives of concern (MEC). The presence of such latent munitions has potentially debilitating or even fatal effects upon a generally unsuspecting stakeholders where communities may be unaware of the risks posed by buried shells, bombs, and other ordnance on both public and privately held properties. As such, various governments have undertaken differing initiatives to assess, mitigate, and manage the risks associated with these munitions. MEC remediation is generally tailored to each nation's unique historical experience with munitions and ordnance and is highly dependent not only on the type and quantity of MEC but also on the existing or proposed land use of the parcel as well. This paper compares the MEC management efforts of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada with regard to their MEC monitoring, detection, and removal methods in order to identify successful policies and procedures that can inform international MEC management.

Description: A number of chemicals, including several organochlorine pesticides, have been identified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Here, the properties of chlorpyrifos (CPY; CAS No. 2921-88-2) and its active metabolite, chlorpyrifos oxon (CPYO; CAS No. 5598-15-2), are assessed relative to criteria for classification of compounds as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances (PBTs). The manufacture and use of POPs are regulated at the global level by the Stockholm Convention (SC) and the UN-ECE POP Protocol. Properties that result in a chemical being classified as a POP, along with long-range transport (LRT), while understood in a generic way, often vary among jurisdictions. Under the SC, POPs are identified by a combination of bulk (intensive) properties, including persistence and biomagnification, and an extensive property, hazard. While it is known that CPY is inherently hazardous, what is important is the aggregate potential for exposure in various environmental matrices. Instead of classifying chemicals as PBT based solely on a few simple, numeric criteria, it is suggested that an overall weight of evidence (WoE) approach, which can also consider the unique properties of the substance, be applied. While CPY and its transformation products are not currently being evaluated as POPs under the SC, CPY is widely used globally and some have suggested that its properties should be evaluated in the context of the SC, especially in locations remote from application. In Europe, all pesticides are being evaluated for properties that contribute to persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity under the aegis of EC Regulation No. 1107/2009: `Concerning the Placing of Plant Protection Products on the Market.? The properties that contribute to the P, LRT, B, and T of CPY were reviewed, and a WoE approach that included an evaluation of the strength of the evidence and the relevance of the data to the classification of CPY and CPYO as POPs or PBTs was applied. While toxic under the simple classification system used in EC Regulation No. 1107/2009, based on its intensive properties and results of monitoring and simulation modeling, it was concluded that there is no justification for classifying CPY or its metabolite, CPYO, as a POP or PBT.

Description: Background: Populations of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) are declining rapidly and are now considered below safe biological limits. High pollution levels are one of the possible reasons for this decline. Contaminant levels are also of concern with regard to human consumption. This study examined the contamination levels of eels from the North Rhine-Westphalian catchment area of the Rhine and from adjacent rivers. A total of 119 eels from 13 sampling sites were analysed for polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), mercury, perfluorooctane sulfononate (PFOS) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Results: North Rhine-Westphalian eels had very high levels of contaminants comparable to eels from other European water bodies which are strongly influenced by anthropogenic activities. Mean values for PCDD/PCDFs ranged between 0.5 and 5.4?pg WHO2005 toxicity equivalents (TEQ)/g, for PCDD/PCDF?+?dl-PCBs between 6.3 and 44.7?pg WHO2005 TEQ/g, for indicator PCBs between 165 and 1,630?ng/g wet weight (ww), for 6 PBDEs between 9.2 and 242??g/kg ww, for mercury between 0.069 and 0.314?mg/kg ww, for PFOS between 8.3 and 49??g/kg ww and for HCB between 3.4 and 50??g/kg ww. For certain sampling sites, high contamination contents of the eels could be attributed to local sources. Congener patterns for PCBs and PBDEs were described, and biota to suspended matter ratios were calculated. Conclusions: Pollution levels in eels from North Rhine-Westphalia are declining with regard to some contaminants but are still very high. Due to the high contaminant contents, eels from the rivers investigated are not suitable for human consumption. Furthermore, the concentrations of estrogenic contaminants such as PCBs, PCDD/PCDFs and PBDEs in the eels are in a range which might have deleterious effects on the eel populations.

Description: Background: Information on pollen dispersal is essential for the risk assessment and management of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) such as Bt maize. We analyzed data on maize pollen deposition at 216 sites in Germany, Switzerland, and Belgium from 2001 to 2010. All data were collected using the same standardized sampling method. The distances between sampling site and the nearest maize field ranged from within the field to 4.45 km. Results: Maize pollen deposition was negatively correlated with distance from the nearest pollen source. The highest pollen deposition was within the field, but depositions of several thousand pollen grains per square meter were recorded over the kilometer range. A power function model most accurately described the relationship between deposition and distance from the nearest pollen source, rather than the exponential model currently used in EU risk assessment and management, which underestimates exposure for distances greater than 10 m. Regression analysis confirmed the high significance of the power relationship. The large variation in pollen deposition at a given distance reflected the influences of wind direction and other meteorological and site conditions. Plausible variations of single values and the predicted mean pollen count at a given distance were expressed by confidence intervals. Conclusions: The model described here allows estimations of pollen deposition in relation to distance from the nearest field; therefore, it will be valuable for the risk assessment and management of GMOs. Our results indicate that buffer zones in the kilometer range are required to prevent harmful exposure of non-target organisms to GMOs.

Description: A number of chemicals, including several organochlorine pesticides, have been identified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Here, the properties of chlorpyrifos (CPY; CAS No. 2921-88-2) and its active metabolite, chlorpyrifos oxon (CPYO; CAS No. 5598-15-2), are assessed relative to criteria for classification of compounds as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances (PBTs). The manufacture and use of POPs are regulated at the global level by the Stockholm Convention (SC) and the UN-ECE POP Protocol. Properties that result in a chemical being classified as a POP, along with long-range transport (LRT), while understood in a generic way, often vary among jurisdictions. Under the SC, POPs are identified by a combination of bulk (intensive) properties, including persistence and biomagnification, and an extensive property, hazard. While it is known that CPY is inherently hazardous, what is important is the aggregate potential for exposure in various environmental matrices. Instead of classifying chemicals as PBT based solely on a few simple, numeric criteria, it is suggested that an overall weight of evidence (WoE) approach, which can also consider the unique properties of the substance, be applied. While CPY and its transformation products are not currently being evaluated as POPs under the SC, CPY is widely used globally and some have suggested that its properties should be evaluated in the context of the SC, especially in locations remote from application. In Europe, all pesticides are being evaluated for properties that contribute to persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity under the aegis of EC Regulation No. 1107/2009: 'Concerning the Placing of Plant Protection Products on the Market.' The properties that contribute to the P, LRT, B, and T of CPY were reviewed, and a WoE approach that included an evaluation of the strength of the evidence and the relevance of the data to the classification of CPY and CPYO as POPs or PBTs was applied. While toxic under the simple classification system used in EC Regulation No. 1107/2009, based on its intensive properties and results of monitoring and simulation modeling, it was concluded that there is no justification for classifying CPY or its metabolite, CPYO, as a POP or PBT.