Aquatic exposure to pesticides: from regulation to the real world

Pesticide contamination of surface waters remains a threat to ecosystem health and drinking water quality. This seminar will overview research aimed at quantifying aquatic exposure and managing routes of entry to surface waters. Modelling developments include (i) web-enabled software targets regulation of pesticides, allowing probabilistic estimates of exposure that account for variability and uncertainty in input parameters; and (ii) the SPIDER model that simulates fate of pesticides within small catchments, linking the major routes of entry to water with a basic stream transport and water quality model to generate exposure profiles for individual fields and stream segments. Ongoing research aims at identifying and prioritising hotspots for transfer of a range of agricultural contaminants to surface waters. The objective is to identify the primary stressors impacting upon aquatic biodiversity in a particular situation and underpin much more targeted mitigation to maintain and enhance the health of aquatic ecosystems.

Colin Brown is joint leader of the EcoChemistry Research Group – a joint initiative between the University of York and the Defra Central Science Laboratory. The group specialises in the fate, effects and risk assessment of organic chemicals in the environment. Colin Brown is a member of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides and chairs the DG-Sanco FOCUS Work Group on Landscape and Mitigation Factors in Ecological Risk Assessment.