The regulatory problems in estimating the toxicity of wood preservatives to bats.
Bat populations in general are in decline and are protected under the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. There is great concern about the effects of wood preservative treatments on (UK) bat populations. The ethics of using wild bats in tests have been questioned. Proposals are now being developed to use a mouse model. However, no laboratory test animal is likely to accurately reflect the metabolism and behaviour of bats which can be considered as atypical within the animal kingdom. English Nature has pioneered a Relative Toxicity Index (RTI) in order to predict the risks to bats from new and existing active ingredients in remedial timber treatments in the absence of toxicological testing on bats. This is based on the oral LD50 (rat) and assumes that rats and bats are equally sensitive to the same active ingredient in different formulations. Under the auspices of the UK Health and Safety Executive an expert group is developing and refining test methods in order to develop a realistic and reliable classification and labelling scheme for bats.
Chadwick
J
J
Health and Safety Executive, Pesticides Registration Section, Bootle, Merseyside, UK.
Reston
S
S
D000818:Animals; D002685:Chiroptera; D016468:Forestry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity*; D051381:Rats; D006113:United Kingdom
D010575:Pesticides