title: Comparison and evaluation of pesticide monitoring programs using a process-based mixture model.
abstract: A number of European countries run large-scale pesticide monitoring schemes in watersheds aimed at identifying and evaluating the presence of pesticide residues in the environment. These schemes provide national and regional scale assessments of pesticide concentrations within the context of environmental quality assessment, aiming to ensure some degree of ecological protection. The present study is aimed at evaluating the joint effects of the pesticide mixtures detected in monitoring programs, using a process-based mixture model that was parameterized for Daphnia magna. In total, over 15 000 samples containing over 1 million individual measurements were evaluated for effects. It was found that there are only a small number of places where one can expect to have effects on daphnids, based on measured concentrations. The most polluted samples would cause extinction of a daphnid population within only 30 h. The results show that effects are mostly triggered by a limited number of pesticide residues at locations with high emissions. It was also shown that the analytical detection limits are basically too high to exclude mixture effects. So, despite all the effort that is put into chemical monitoring programs, it remains a challenge to make statements on whether or not the environment is protected. Recommendations are offered for a different setup of monitoring programs to improve this situation. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:3113-3123. © 2016 SETAC.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Van Steenisgebouw, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vijver
authors.affiliation: Environment Agency, Kings Meadow House, Reading, Berkshire United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rambohul
authors.affiliation: Environment Agency, Kings Meadow House, Reading, Berkshire United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dunbar
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Van Steenisgebouw, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maarten
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van 't Zelfde
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Svendsen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, MacLean Building, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spurgeon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001389:Azirines / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D002709:Chlorfenvinphos / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D003621:Daphnia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004095:Dihydropyridines / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005060:Europe; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D057230:Limit of Detection; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D015397:Program Evaluation
chemical_list: D001389:Azirines; D004095:Dihydropyridines; D010573:Pesticide Residues; C069267:diazipine; D002709:Chlorfenvinphos
keywords: Dose-response modeling; Environmental monitoring program; Mixtures; Pesticides; Water quality