EUROPOEM : a predictive occupational exposure database for registration purposes of pesticides

For registration of agricultural pesticides, the risks for humans, animals, and the environment must be determined. The risk assessment is based on an appraisal of the levels of exposure and the hazards of the active substance(s) in the plant protection product, that is, the agricultural pesticide. Funded by the European Commission (AIR3 CT93- 1370), the EUROPOEM database has been developed by a group of experts, representing governments, industry, and academia. The currently available exposure database reflects exposure to operators (mixer/loaders and applicators). The EUROPOEM approach is based on a harmonized protocol for conduct of field studies of operator exposure (presently published as an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] Guidance Document) and a tiered approach to exposure and risk assessment. The database is constructed from exposure data obtained in representative field studies. These field studies are considered according to criteria reflecting the quality of documen...