title: Nanopesticides: guiding principles for regulatory evaluation of environmental risks.
abstract: Nanopesticides or nano plant protection products represent an emerging technological development that, in relation to pesticide use, could offer a range of benefits including increased efficacy, durability, and a reduction in the amounts of active ingredients that need to be used. A number of formulation types have been suggested including emulsions (e.g., nanoemulsions), nanocapsules (e.g., with polymers), and products containing pristine engineered nanoparticles, such as metals, metal oxides, and nanoclays. The increasing interest in the use of nanopesticides raises questions as to how to assess the environmental risk of these materials for regulatory purposes. Here, the current approaches for environmental risk assessment of pesticides are reviewed and the question of whether these approaches are fit for purpose for use on nanopesticides is addressed. Potential adaptations to existing environmental risk assessment tests and procedures for use with nanopesticides are discussed, addressing aspects such as analysis and characterization, environmental fate and exposure assessment, uptake by biota, ecotoxicity, and risk assessment of nanopesticides in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Throughout, the main focus is on assessing whether the presence of the nanoformulation introduces potential differences relative to the conventional active ingredients. The proposed changes in the test methodology, research priorities, and recommendations would facilitate the development of regulatory approaches and a regulatory framework for nanopesticides.
authors.affiliation: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), PMB 2, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia.
authors.forename: Rai S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Kookana
authors.forename: Alistair B A
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Boxall
authors.forename: Philip T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ashauer
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beulke
authors.forename: Qasim
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chaudhry
authors.forename: Geert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cornelis
authors.forename: Teresa F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kah
authors.forename: Iseult
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ranville
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sinclair
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spurgeon
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tiede
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Van den Brink
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010575:Pesticides