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Veröffentlichung Identification, assessment and management of endocrine disruptors in wildlife in the EU substance legislation(2013)A discussion paper was developed by a panel of experts of the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) contributing to the on-going debate on the identification, assessment and management of endocrine disruptors with a view to protect wildlife according to the EU substance legislation (plant protection products, biocides, industrial chemicals). Based on a critical synthesis of the state-of-the-art regarding regulatory requirements, testing methods, assessment schemes, decision-making criteria and risk management options, we advise an appropriate and consistent implementation of this important subject into existing chemicals legislation in Europe. Our proposal for a balanced risk management of endocrine disruptors essentially advocates transparent regulatory decision making based on a scientifically robust weight of evidence approach and an adequate risk management consistent across different legislations. With respect to the latter, a more explicit consideration of the principle of proportionality of regulatory decision making and socio-economic benefits in the on-going debate is further encouraged.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Veröffentlichung Anthropogene Spurenstoffe(2013) Grummt, TamaraAnthropogene Spurenstoffe können aufgrund ihrer Stoffeigenschaften (Polarität, Persistenz und Mobilität) Kläranlagen passieren und bis ins Trinkwasser gelangen. Zugleich sind durch moderne analytische Messverfahren immer mehr Stoffe in immer niedrigeren Konzentrationen im Wasserkreislauf nachweisbar. Das theoretische Konzept zur Ableitung gesundheitlicher Orientierungswerte (GOW) erlaubt für Spurenstoffe, über die in der Regel eine unzureichende Datenbasis vorliegt, eine zeitnahe toxikologische Bewertung. Derzeit werden für die im GOW-Konzept genannten prioritären Wirkmechanismen (Gentoxizität, Neurotoxizität und endokrine Wirkungen) In-vitro-Testbatterien entwickelt, um eine experimentell basierte Bewertung vornehmen zu können. Am Beispiel der Humanarzneimittel lässt sich aufzeigen, dass im Falle der anthropogenen Spurenstoffe die Minimierungsstrategien nicht allein auf technischen Eliminierungsmaßnahmen in Kläranlage fokussieren müssen. Durch die Einbeziehung wichtiger Akteure (Ärzte, Apotheker, Verbraucher) ließe sich z. B. durch umweltgerechte Verschreibungspraktiken, Rücknahmesysteme und Entsorgung der Eintrag von Humanarzneistoffen in die Umwelt deutlich minimieren.
Quelle: http://link.springer.com/Veröffentlichung 5-Point programme for sustainable plant protection(2018) Egerer, Sina Elisabeth; Frische, Tobias; Matezki, Steffen; Pickl, Christina; Wogram, JörnThis position paper intends to stimulate a profound rethinking of contemporary agricultural practice. We criticise the current intensity of chemical plant protection in Germany as ecologically unsustainable and thus threatening the achievement of key targets of environmental protection and nature conservation policies. In the first part of the paper, we provide background information on the use of plant protection products (PPP) in German agriculture, the role of agricultural policy, European pesticide legislation, the principles of and framework for environmental risk assessment and risk management of PPP, as well as environmental effects of PPP. The second part is presented against the backdrop of the European "Sustainable Use Directive" (2009/128/EC). This directive requires that "Member States shall adopt National Action Plans to set up their quantitative objectives, targets, measures, and timetables to reduce risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and to encourage the development and introduction of integrated pest management and of alternative approaches or techniques to reduce dependency on the use of pesticides." Reflecting on the corresponding debate in Germany, we suggest the following five key principles for a sustainable use of PPP and provide recommendations for their implementation: (1) minimising use; (2) identifying, quantifying, and communicating risks; (3) optimising risk management; (4) compensating for unavoidable effects; (5) internalising external costs. © 2018, The Author(s).Veröffentlichung Statement on advancing the assessment of chemical mixtures and their risks for human health and the environment(2020) Drakvik, Elina; Altenburger, Rolf; Aoki, Yasunobu; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Reiber, LenaThe number of anthropogenic chemicals, manufactured, by-products, metabolites and abiotically formed transformation products, counts to hundreds of thousands, at present. Thus, humans and wildlife are exposed to complex mixtures, never one chemical at a time and rarely with only one dominating effect. Hence there is an urgent need to develop strategies on how exposure to multiple hazardous chemicals and the combination of their effects can be assessed. A workshop, "Advancing the Assessment of Chemical Mixtures and their Risks for Human Health and the Environment" was organized in May 2018 together with Joint Research Center in Ispra, EU-funded research projects and Commission Services and relevant EU agencies. This forum for researchers and policy-makers was created to discuss and identify gaps in risk assessment and governance of chemical mixtures as well as to discuss state of the art science and future research needs. Based on the presentations and discussions at this workshop we want to bring forward the following Key Messages: - We are at a turning point: multiple exposures and their combined effects require better management to protect public health and the environment from hazardous chemical mixtures.
- Regulatory initiatives should be launched to investigate the opportunities for all relevant regulatory frameworks to include prospective mixture risk assessment and consider combined exposures to (real-life) chemical mixtures to humans and wildlife, across sectors.
- Precautionary approaches and intermediate measures (e.g. Mixture Assessment Factor) can already be applied, although, definitive mixture risk assessments cannot be routinely conducted due to significant knowledge and data gaps.
- A European strategy needs to be set, through stakeholder engagement, for the governance of combined exposure to multiple chemicals and mixtures. The strategy would include research aimed at scientific advancement in mechanistic understanding and modelling techniques, as well as research to address regulatory and policy needs. Without such a clear strategy, specific objectives and common priorities, research, and policies to address mixtures will likely remain scattered and insufficient. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Veröffentlichung Implementation and evaluation of the water safety plan approach for buildings(2019) Rapp, Thomas; Rickert, Bettina; Schmidt, Isabelle; Schmoll, OliverThe World Health Organization promotes water safety plans (WSPs) - a risk-based management approach - for premise plumbing systems in buildings to prevent deterioration of drinking-water quality. Experience with the implementation of WSPs in buildings were gathered within a pilot project in Germany. The project included an evaluation of the feasibility and advantages of WSPs by all stakeholders who share responsibility in drinking-water safety. While the feasibility of the concept was demonstrated for all buildings, benefits reported by building operators varied. The more technical standards were complied with before implementing WSP, the less pronounced were the resulting improvements. In most cases, WSPs yielded an increased system knowledge and awareness for drinking-water quality issues. WSPs also led to improved operation of the premise plumbing system and provided benefits for surveillance authorities. A survey among the European Network of Drinking-Water Regulators on the existing legal framework regarding drinking-water safety in buildings exhibited that countries are aware of the need to manage risks in buildings' installations, but experience with WSP is rare. Based on the successful implementation and the positive effects of WSPs on drinking-water quality, we recommend the establishment of legal frameworks that require WSPs for priority buildings whilst accounting for differing conditions in buildings and countries. Quelle: https://iwaponline.comVeröffentlichung Linking water quality monitoring and climate-resilient water safety planning in two urban drinking water utilities in Ethiopia(2019) Berg, Harold van den; Ibrahim, Seada; Rickert, BettinaUnsafe drinking water is a recognized health threat in Ethiopia, and climate change, rapid population growth, urbanization and agricultural practices put intense pressure on availability and quality of water. Climate change-related health problems due to floods and waterborne diseases are increasing. With increasing insight into impacts of climate change and urbanization on water availability and quality and of required adaptations, a shift towards climate-resilient water safety planning was introduced into an Ethiopian strategy and guidance document to guarantee safe drinking water. Climate-resilient water safety planning was implemented in the urban water supplies of Addis Ababa and Adama, providing drinking water to 5 million and 500,000 people, respectively. Based on the risks identified with climate-resilient water safety planning, water quality monitoring can be optimized by prioritizing parameters and events which pose a higher risk for contaminating the drinking water. Water quality monitoring was improved at both drinking water utilities and at the Public Health Institute to provide relevant data used as input for climate-resilient water safety planning. By continuously linking water quality monitoring and climate-resilient water safety planning, utilization of information was optimized, and both approaches benefit from linking these activities. © 2019 The AuthorsVeröffentlichung Comparing the german enabling environment for nationwide water safety plan implementation with international experiences: Are we still thinking big or already scaling up?(2020) Schmiege, Dennis; Evers, Mariele; Rickert, Bettina; Zügner, VerenaEnsuring safe drinking-water is the target of the Water Safety Plan (WSP) approach, which has been successfully applied to a large number of water supply systems around the world. Effective country-wide scaling up of WSP implementation requires an enabling environment at the policy level. By utilizing a multi-step mixed methods approach, this study summarizes international experience with WSP implementation and scaling-up efforts following the 8 steps of the WSP road map published by WHO and IWA for an enabling environment, shows what steps Germany has in place, and compares this with published international experience to inspire further policy action. Contrasting the international experience to the German situation revealed several overlaps but also profound differences, which, in turn, offer opportunities for mutual learning. Most experience in Germany and internationally is documented for the earlier steps of the WSP road map. Information particularly on developing a national strategy, securing financial instruments, activities to support continual implementation of WSPs and on review of the overall WSP experiences and sharing lessons learned appears to be scarce, while the importance of training, collaboration and alliances, and the value of a regulatory push are often stressed. In Germany, stakeholder engagement, guidance documents and workshop materials have been of vital importance. Information that could particularly inform further action in Germany mostly relate to considering a national WSP strategy, and how to shape an approach for external quality assurance of WSPs.