ABSTRACT
Plant protection products (PPPs) are manufactured and applied to crops with the purpose of controlling pests and diseases in order to increase yields, thus producing high-quality yet affordable foodstuffs. PPPs are inherently toxic, at least to the pest in question; therefore, ecological risk assessments are carried out to ascertain that no unacceptable harm is done to nontarget organisms, that is, the organisms that are not pests. In order to carry out those risk assessments, a wide range of studies are conducted to describe exposure (environmental fate) and effects (ecotoxicology), which are subsequently combined to calculate toxicity exposure ratios (TERs; or risk quotients in America) used in the ecological risk assessments. The protection goal of most risk assessments is the populations, not the individuals:
“In general, the sustainability of populations of non-target organisms should • be ensured” (Guidance Document on Aquatic Ecotoxicology; European Commission 2002a). “There is a common understanding that the ecological risk assessment aims • not at individuals but at the protection of populations” (Guidance Document on Terrestrial Ecotoxicology; European Commission 2002b).
