Pesticide Residues in Organic and Conventional Agricultural Soils across Europe: Measured and Predicted Concentrations.

During the growing season of 2021, 201 soil samples from conventionally and organically managed fields from 10 European countries and 8 cropping systems were taken, and 192 residues of synthetic pesticides were analyzed. Pesticide residues were found in 97% of the samples, and 88% of the samples contained mixtures of at least 2 substances. A maximum of 21 substances were found in conventionally managed fields, and a maximum of 12 were found in organically managed fields. The number and concentration of pesticide residues varied significantly between conventional and organic fields in 70 and 50% of the case study sites, respectively. Application records were available for a selected number of fields (n = 82), and these records were compared to the detected substances. Residues from 52% of the applied pesticides were detected in the soils. Only 21% of the pesticide residues detected in the soil samples were applied during the 2021 growing season. From the application data, predicted environmental concentrations of residues in soil were calculated and compared to the measured concentrations. These estimates turned out not to be accurate. The results of this study show that most European agricultural soils contain mixtures of pesticide residues and that current calculation methods may not reliably estimate their presence.

Pesticide residues with hazard classifications relevant to non-target species including humans are omnipresent in the environment and farmer residences.

Intensive and widespread use of pesticides raises serious environmental and human health concerns. The presence and levels of 209 pesticide residues (active substances and transformation products) in 625 environmental samples (201 soil, 193 crop, 20 outdoor air, 115 indoor dust, 58 surface water, and 38 sediment samples) have been studied. The samples were collected during the 2021 growing season, across 10 study sites, covering the main European crops, and conventional and organic farming systems. We profiled the pesticide residues found in the different matrices using existing hazard classifications towards non-target organisms and humans. Combining monitoring data and hazard information, we developed an indicator for the prioritization of pesticides, which can support policy decisions and sustainable pesticide use transitions. Eighty-six percent of the samples had at least one residue above the respective limit of detection. One hundred residues were found in soil, 112 in water, 99 in sediments, 78 in crops, 76 in outdoor air, and 197 in indoor dust. The number, levels, and profile of residues varied between farming systems. Our results show that non-approved compounds still represent a significant part of environmental cocktails and should be accounted for in monitoring programs and risk assessments. The hazard profiles analysis confirms the dominance of compounds of low-moderate hazard and underscores the high hazard of some approved compounds and recurring "no data available" situations. Overall, our results support the idea that risk should be assessed in a mixture context, taking environmentally relevant mixtures into consideration. We have uncovered uncertainties and data gaps that should be addressed, as well as the policy implications at the EU approval status level. Our newly introduced indicator can help identify research priority areas, and act as a reference for targeted scenarios set forth in the Farm to Fork pesticide reduction goals.

Utilidad del boletín estadístico de defunción para la identificación de muertes extrahospitalarias en un registro poblacional de infartos agudos de miocardio / Usefulness of the Statistical Bulletin of Deaths to Identify Extrahospital Deaths in the Context of a Myocardial Infarction Population Registry

Introducción y objetivos. Se estudió la utilidad del boletín estadístico de defunción (BED) para la identificación de muertes extrahospitalarias por isquemia coronaria aguda y la estrategia en la selección de causas de defunción aparecidas en el BED más eficiente para dicha identificación. Métodos. Se seleccionaron aquellos BED correspondientes a defunciones extrahospitalarias que incluyesen alguna causa de muerte indicativa de que ésta pudo ser debida a isquemia cardíaca. Para estudiar la utilidad del BED se calculó la sensibilidad y el valor predictivo de la isquemia cardíaca. Para determinar la estrategia más eficiente en la selección de causas de muerte se compararon 2 estrategias: la primera, utilizando la causa básica de defunción, y la segunda, teniendo en cuenta todos los procesos patológicos mencionados en el BED. Resultados. De los 395 BED seleccionados, 161 fueron clasificados como infartos agudos de miocardio. En aquellos BED en los que figuraba la isquemia cardíaca como causa básica de muerte se obtuvo una sensibilidad de 82,6 por ciento (IC del 95 por ciento: 75,9-88,1) y un valor predictivo de 72,7 por ciento (IC del 95 por ciento: 65,6-79). La estrategia en la selección de BED más eficiente fue la de investigar aquellos en los que aparecía mencionada la isquemia cardíaca y los BED cuya causa básica de muerte fue: diabetes mellitus, hipertensión arterial esencial, enfermedad cardíaca hipertensiva, disritmia cardíaca o insuficiencia cardíaca. Conclusiones. La información que aportan los BED para las muertes extrahospitalarias por isquemia coronaria resulta fiable. Se propone una estrategia sensible y eficiente en la selección de BED para la detección de casos (AU)