Public consultation of the Scientific Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR) regarding the development of a new guidance document on emissions from protected crop systems (e.g. greenhouses and cultivations grown under cover) for assessments under Council Directive 91/414/EEC

EFSA's Panel on plant protection products and their residues (PPR Panel) has launched an open consultation on the draft Project Plan for the development of an inventory for protected crop systems (greenhouses and cultivations grown under cover) and a new guidance document for estimating importance of emission routes and emissions of plant protection products from these systems to relevant environmental compartments.

There is no definition that demarcates the emission of a protected crop application from the emission of a field application. Neither is there agreement on the definitions of individual protected/covered crop systems like a specific type of greenhouse. Nevertheless, several active ingredients have been listed in Annex I of Directive 91/414/EEC with reference to use in greenhouses.

A number of Member States have expressed interest in development of guidance in this area in response to a consultation on Guidance Documents by the Director of Sciences from EFSA in a letter 3 July 2006 sent via the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

The foreseen guidance will allow a future working group to develop emission and exposure scenarios for protected crop systems.

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by means of the electronic form available on this page by 15 December 2008. Please note that comments submitted by e-mail or by post cannot be taken into account. The outcome of this consultation will be taken into account for the development of the inventory and the new Guidance Document.

Comments should refer to the chapters of the draft project plan, as provided for in the electronic form, and to the line numbering. Examples of protective crop systems for supporting information can be found in the document “Examples of protected crop systems”.

If interested parties wish to contribute studies or data to support a particular comment, these should be published or accepted for publication in scientific reports or journals and clear reference to where the supporting information is found should be made.

It should be noted that a submission will not under any circumstances be considered if:

• It is submitted after the deadline set out in the call;
• It is presented in any other form than the instructions and template provide for;
• It contains comments which do not relate to the contents of the document;
• It contains information on individual cases;
• It contains complaints against institutions, personal accusations, irrelevant or offensive statements or material;
• It is related to policy or risk management aspects, which is out of the scope of EFSA's activity.

Furthermore,

• Repeated comments received from the same contributor will appear only once.
• Comments submitted by individuals on personal capacity will be published anonymously.
• Comments submitted formally on behalf of an organization will appear with the name of the organization.

EFSA will assess all relevant comments from interested parties which are submitted in line with the above criteria. The comments will be evaluated by the EFSA’s Scientific Panel on plant protection products and their residues (PPR Panel) and taken into consideration where these will enhance the scientific quality, understanding and usefulness of the guidance. Following this procedure EFSA will publish the relevant comments received, as well as a short report on the outcome of the consultation.