Evaluation of the combined toxicity assessment and cumulative risk assessment of ecologically relevant mixtures of plant protection Products (PPPs) under Norwegian conditions

Abstract

This project evaluated whether the principles of combined toxicity assessment (CTA) and cumulative risk assessment (CRA) can be used to predict the toxicity of ecologically-relevant mixtures of plant protection products (PPPs) in surface waters receiving run-off from Norwegian agricultural areas. A combination of testing solid phase extracts (SPE), whole surface water and a synthetic mixture in an algal bioassay and predicting combined toxicity using CTA models were conducted on selected samples from the Heia catchment (Råde, Norway). The results demonstrated that designing and testing synthetic mixtures on the basis of measured concentrations of PPPs was the best method for the accurate determination of combined toxicity due to confounding factors introduced by whole water and SPE testing. Combined toxicity models based on Concentration Addition (CA) successfully predicted the toxicity of the complex synthetic mixture and verified that a mixture of PPPs acted in an additive manner. Tiered assessment of the cumulative risk of active PPP substances and PPP formulations proposed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) were considered applicable also for the CRA of complex environmental mixtures and could potentially aid the identification of relevant mixtures, risk drivers and susceptible species as input to the assessment and approval of PPPs.