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Groundwater discharges of biocides from façades in urban regions

Biocides, commonly used in building materials, are released through precipitation and can contaminate the groundwater. The study evaluates the transport of biocides through urban pathways — vegetated soils, permeable pavements, and infiltration systems — and gives recommendations for refining the European Emission Scenario Documents (ESD).The aim is to enhance groundwater protection in urban areas, advocating for the use of biocide-free materials and sustainable rainwater management as part of broader blue-green infrastructure strategies. The results provide an important basis for architects, engineers, and municipalities, promoting sustainable construction practices to reduce biocide emissions.

Consideration of non-extractable residues (NER) in PBT-assessment

The formation of NER in simulation studies on degradation in the environment is an issue addressed in all European regulations on chemical substances. Some of these residues can be released back into the environment over the long term. This proportion must therefore be considered in the persistence assessment. The project summarised existing proposals for characterising the different NER types. The extraction methods proposed for determining the total NER and for differentiating into NER types I (strongly sorbed or physically entrapped), NER type II (covalently bound) and NER type III (biogenically bound) were tested and refined for practical suitability. An evaluation concept was developed to determine the proportion of NER that can be remobilised in the long term (NER type I), taking this into account in the persistence assessment. The report is aimed at regulators, industry and academia.

Designing a strategy based on toxicity evaluation to improve pesticide risk assessment for terrestrial amphibians (TerAmphiTox)

The UBA aims to contribute to the development of an EU guidance document on risk assessment for amphibians. As part of the project, data on the toxicity of various pesticides to amphibians were systematically researched, processed, and supplemented with its own experiments to establish a scientific basis for risk assessment. The impact of direct exposure through overspraying of amphibians and indirect exposure via sprayed soil substrate were investigated. Furthermore, correlations between mortality, effects on skin and organs, and physicochemical parameters of the active ingredients, as well as their toxicity to other species (birds, mammals, aquatic organisms, earthworms), were examined.

Risk management for plant protection products: Higher uncertainties by combining multiple measures?

In the environmental risk assessment of plant protection products, the risk of spray drift losses to the off-field can be reduced by adding drift reduction measures. The question is how the combination of several measures affects the overall risk and, in particular, the associated uncertainty. Various statistical methods have been used to quantify both the overall risk and its uncertainty, in particular the increase in power and the width of a 95% confidence interval where the additional measures are modelled as qualitative factors. It can be concluded that for most of the scenarios considered, power is reduced or only marginally increased. I.e., adding further measures tends to increase uncertainty. This is mainly due to the fact that the power of the 'distance' factor is already very high and it is naturally difficult to increase it further. This relationship is even stronger for the confidence interval model, where it actually increases as additional factors are included in the experimental design with increasing sample size. These trends have also been confirmed empirically using selected experimental data from the SETAC DRAW database, albeit only selectively.

Urease- and nitrification inhibitors for climate and environmental protection: opportunity or risk?

Urease and nitrification inhibitors are used in agriculture to reduce ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions and the leaching of nitrate. However, the risks of inhibitors for human health and the environment have not yet been sufficiently investigated. Also, the specific effectiveness of different urease and nitrification inhibitors has not yet been sufficiently clarified. These uncertainties have so far only been partially considered in legal regulations. This paper summarizes the current state of knowledge on the effects of the substances and examines the extent to which the legal regulations take the risks into account. Finally, recommendations are made as to how legal regulations should be changed so that the inhibitors contribute to achieving environmental and climate goals.

Pollutants of the PRTR - Situation in Germany

This publication provides an overview about data of the German PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register). For each pollutant, the number of reported facilities and their releases to air, water and land and their disposal in waste water are clearly displayed. Data for industrial branches of the current reporting year 2017 are summarized in tables while their developments since 2007 are presented in diagrams. Quelle: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de

Components for the Transformation into a Sustainable Food System

The publication summarizes three strategies for transforming the food system that have been outlined in the “STErn project”, namely the promotion of a more plant-based diet, the further development of the organic farming and food industry and the strengthening of regional value chains. Measures to implement these strategies are bundled into three overarching approaches and presented graphically in the form of profiles. An interactive graphic provides an overview of all 39 proposed measures at a glance.

Poster: Boden des Jahres 2025 – Rendzina

Die Rendzina ist ein Boden, der sich aus Kalk, Dolomit oder Gipsgestein entwickelt hat. Durch Bildung und Anreicherung von Humus bildet sie einen dunkel gefärbten Oberboden aus. Unmittelbar darunter liegt das kaum verwitterte Bodenausgangsgestein.Das klassische Verbreitungsgebiet der Rendzinen sind Karstgebiete, vor allem in den Mittelgebirgen und den Alpen, wo kalkreiches Ausgangsgestein und Hangneigung zusammentreen. In den Mittelgebirgen treten sie überall dort auf, wo Kalksteinschichten ausstreichen. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern haben sich Rendzinen auf Kalkstein der Kreidezeit entwickelt. Das Hauptverbreitungsgebiet liegt deshalb auf der Halbinsel Jasmund auf Rügen. Daneben existieren vereinzelte Vorkommen im Landkreis Mecklenburgische Seenplatte. Die Rendzinen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern nehmen eine Fläche von ca. 800 ha ein und werden vorwiegend als Wald genutzt.

Wirksamkeit von Biodiversitätsflächen(typen) zur Minderung der Umweltauswirkungen von Pflanzenschutzmitteln in Raumkulturen

Pflanzenschutzmitteln (PSM) werden zur Bekämpfung bestimmter Schadorganismen oder Krankheiten, die ein Risiko für den Ertrag der Kulturpflanze darstellen, eingesetzt. Häufig wird dabei jedoch auch ein breites Spektrum von Nichtzielorganismen getötet oder geschädigt. Nicht nur die Anwendungsfläche, sondern auch angrenzende, unbehandelte Flächen können von PSM-Auswirkungen betroffen sein. Ein ausreichender Anteil an geeigneten Flächen zur Förderung der Biodiversität kann negative Auswirkungen einer PSM-Anwendung auf Nichtzielorganismen mitunter kompensieren. Dieser Bericht gibt einen Überblick über biodiversitätsfördernde Maßnahmen für die Raumkulturen Obst, Wein und Hopfen und stellt ein Konzept zum Ausgleich negativer Auswirkungen vor.

Correctly assessing the performance and threats of microorganisms in agricultural soils – identifying meaningful endpoints under field-relevant pesticide, biocide and pharmaceutical exposure

The aim of the MICROSOIL project was to identify meaningful endpoints for assessing the effects of plant protection products, veterinary pharmaceuticals and biocides on microorganisms in agricultural soils.The current risk assessment for plant protection products (PPPs) considers the effects of PPPs on nitrogen turnover by microorganisms in test soils according to the OECD 216 testguideline. However, this laboratory test does not cover all risks to microorganisms caused by PPPs. Within this project, five alternative methods to assess the effects of chemicals on the soil microbial community were identified, based on a literature review and a scoring system . To compare the sensitivity of these methods to chemicals, laboratory tests were carried out with three soils and six test substances, each.Based on the MICROSOIL results, it is recommended to add an additional test on bacterial function (ISO 20130, enzymatic activity) and a structural test on the effects on mycorrhizal fungi (ISO 10832) to the first tier risk assessment of chemicals. A fingerprinting method to assess the impact on community structure is also recommended but needs to be further elaborated.The results of this project also show that the current risk assessment for veterinary pharmaceuticals may not cover the development of antibiotic resistance in environmentally relevant soil bacteria.This project also investigated the degradation performance of microorganisms after multiple applications of chemicals. Multiple applications of the same substance as well as the presence of another substance in the soil had both positive and negative effects on the degradation rate of the test substances.The results presented here underline the need to update the risk assessment framework for soil organisms, exposed to chemicals and provide concrete suggestions for a new risk assessment scheme.

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