Risk Assessment Innovation for Low-Risk Pesticides (RATION)

Risk Assessment Innovation for Low-Risk Pesticides (RATION)

Low-risk pesticides including biopesticides consisting of plant extracts, semiochemicals such as pheromones and allelochemicals, and microbial pesticides are gaining ground in the global market, where they have started to substitute synthetic pesticides. In addition, phages, protists, microbial consortia and double-stranded (ds)-RNA pesticides are emerging low-risk solutions that are expected to reach the market in coming […]

Best chemical risk assessment professionals for maximum ecosystem services benefit (PRORISK)

PRORISK is a European Training Network funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. It creates a platform for training early-stage researchers in the field of advanced environmental risk assessment. Environmental risk assessment procedures are nowadays changing, incorporating for instance mechanistic, ecological, and socio-economic information. Consequently, risk assessments are becoming more comprehensive. […]

HP 14 classification of mirror entries in the List of Wastes – proposals for further developing the German ‘Recommendations for the ecotoxicological characterization of wastes’

According to Directive 2008/98/EG in connection with Decision 2000/532/EC (European List of Wastes, LoW), waste has to be classified as hazardous or non-hazardous. The LoW contains ‘absolute hazardous entries’ (wastes that are hazardous without further assessment), ‘absolute non-hazardous entries’ (wastes that are non-hazardous without further assessment) and ‘mirror entries’ (wastes that can be classified as […]

The European industry-academia network for revising and advancing the assessment of the soil microbial toxicity of pesticides (ARISTO)

The European Commission has imposed a stringent regulatory scheme for pesticide authorisation, which includes an assessment of potential risks for aquatic organisms and terrestrial macro-organisms. However, the assessment of the toxicity of pesticides on soil microorganisms relies on a protocol that does not identify effects on key microbial functions and on microbial diversity. As acknowledged […]

Prioritisation and risk evaluation of medicines in the environment (PREMIER)

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) project ‘Prioritisation and risk evaluation of medicines in the environment’ (PREMIER) aims to develop a centralised, user-friendly and transparent digital assessment system accessible for all relevant stakeholders such as regulatory agencies, pharmaceutical industry, water managers and environmental non-governmental organisations. Furthermore, PREMIER will explore the options to incorporate environment considerations earlier […]

Development and standardisation of an ecotoxicological test method using fungus gnat larvae for the risk assessment of genetically modified plants

Prior to releasing genetically modified plants (GMPs) into the environment and placing them on the market in the European Union, an environmental risk assessment has to be performed according to Directive 2001/18/EC. Based on the results of a previous project conducted from 2012 to 2016 (for more information, see the project description and the publication […]

Further development of simple test systems for the evaluation of potential PBT substances: How to bridge the gap between screening tests and complex studies?

The first aim of the project was to assess whether the existing OECD test guidelines for ready biodegradability of chemicals (OECD test guidelines 301 A–D and 310) can be harmonized. The gained insights were discussed at an international expert workshop in April 2019. Laboratory experiments were performed for five test substances to verify the impact […]

Evaluation of biodiversity via DNA-extraction from soil and organism samples taken at permanent soil monitoring sites (MetaSOL)

Germany lacks a nationwide and standardised survey of soil organisms, although a comprehensive infrastructure for such a survey is available with approx. 800 permanent soil monitoring sites (Bodendauer­beobachtungsflächen, BDF). Not all federal states conduct their own soil biology surveys on their permanent soil monitoring sites. The most important reason for this is probably the time-consuming […]

CNT-based nanoporous membranes for treatment of wastewater and process waters

CNT-based nanoporous membranes with high flux for energy-efficient treatment of wastewater and process waters from natural gas and crude oil processing industries

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) represent an important group in the class of carbon-based nanomaterials. Their physical characteristics make them highly suitable for use in filtration methods, and lab-scaled applications have been very promising. However, large-scale CNT-based nanoporous membranes for application in industrial processes are not yet available. The objective of the present project is the development […]