Environmental risk assessment of pesticides

Last reviewed date:

28 March 2025

3 minutes read

The EU requires pesticides to be assessed for potential risks they may pose to the environment before they can be approved for use within the EU.

Environmental risk assessments ( ERA Environmental risk assessment (ERA) is the process of assessing potential harm to the environment caused by a substance, activity or natural occurrence. This may include the introduction of GM plants, the use of pesticides, or the spread of plant pests) of pesticides are used to evaluate their potential risks by examining a pesticide Substance used to kill or control pests, including disease-carrying organisms and undesirable insects, animals and plants's environmental fate and ecotoxicology The study of the adverse impacts of substances, particularly chemicals, in relation to the environment and public health.

Environmental fate refers to what happens to a pesticide after it is released into the environment. This includes for example how a pesticide breaks down, accumulates in soil and/or is transformed into other substances.
Ecotoxicology studies how a pesticide impacts on living organisms such as birds, mammals, plants, insects and fish.

These assessments identify and characterise the risk of potential undesired effects of pesticides on non-target organisms, ecosystems and biodiversity A term used to describe the variety of living organisms existing in a specific environment.

Latest

EFSA is working on two mandates from the European Commission:

An update of the guidance document on terrestrial ecotoxicology, including a review of the risk assessment methodology for non-target arthropods (other than bees), in-soil organisms (non-target soil meso- and macrofauna and effects on soil nitrogen transformation), and for non-target terrestrial plants outside the treatment area.
A framework for assessing potential indirect effects on biodiversity through trophic interactions in agro-environmental conditions.

On 18 June 2025, EFSA will hold a scientific colloquium on the assessment of indirect effects as part of the environmental risk assessment (ERA) of plant protection products (PPPs). More information on the agenda, venue and how to register can be found here.

Milestones

2025
January
EFSA publishes a technical report presenting the outline of its workplan to review the guidance document on terrestrial ecotoxicology and to develop a framework for assessing potential indirect effects on biodiversity through trophic interactions in agro-environmental conditions.
EFSA publishes an event report on the workshop co-organised by EFSA and the European Commission’s DG SANTE on the review of the guidance document on terrestrial ecotoxicology.
2024
October
EFSA and the European Commission’s DG SANTE co-organise a workshop in Brussels to discuss the mandates requesting EFSA to review the guidance document on terrestrial ecotoxicology and to develop a framework for assessing potential indirect effects on biodiversity through trophic interactions in agro-environmental conditions.
2023
EFSA publishes a revised guidance document for assessing the risk posed by plant protection products to bees, including methods for evaluating metabolites and mixtures. The new document emphasises the need to consider long-term exposure Concentration or amount of a particular substance that is taken in by an individual, population or ecosystem in a specific frequency over a certain amount of time to low pesticide doses and sublethal effects A biological, physiological, demographic or behavioural effect on an individual or population that survives exposure to a substance at a lethal (i.e., deadly) or sublethal concentration. Sublethal effects may affect, among others, life span, development, population growth, fertility and behaviour, such as feeding or foraging on honeybees.
EFSA publishes an updated guidance document for assessing the risks of pesticides to birds and mammals, outlining how to evaluate their exposure, and potential undesired effects from these chemicals.

EFSA publishes a statement from its Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR) on the effective design and conduct of groundwater monitoring studies to assess the exposure of pesticides.
2020
EFSA publishes a scientific report to update the FOCUS surface water scenarios.
2018
EFSA publishes a statement from its PPR Panel on the models for assessing pesticide risks to aquatic life.
2017
EFSA publishes a guidance document for assessing exposure levels if pesticides in soil that result from application of plant protection products.
2016
EFSA publishes a scientific opinion reviewing the science for assessing the risks posed by plant protection products to soil organisms.
EFSA publishes a guidance document from its Scientific Committee to develop specific protection goal (SPG) options for environmental risk assessment A specialised field of applied science that involves reviewing scientific data and studies in order to evaluate risks associated with certain hazards. It involves four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterisation, exposure assessment and risk characterisation (ERA) at EFSA.
2015
EFSA publishes a scientific opinion on the state of play of the science on assessments of the risks of plant protection products on non-target arthropods.
EFSA publishes a scientific opinion on the effect assessment for pesticides on sediment organisms in edge-of-field surface water.
EFSA publishes a statement on a guidance document by the UK’s Food and Environment Research Agency, covering how aged sorption studies for pesticides should be conducted, analysed and used in regulatory assessments.
2014
EFSA publishes a scientific opinion on the state of play of the science for assessing the risks from plant protection products to non-target plants.
EFSA publishes a scientific opinion on good modelling practices for assessing the ecological effects of pesticides.
EFSA publishes a guidance document on the evaluation of laboratory and field studies to determine the half-life The time required for 50% of a substance present in an individual, population or ecosystem to break down or be eliminated naturally. It is often used to describe the disappearance of potentially harmful substances such as chemical toxins of a pesticide and its breakdown products.
2013
EFSA publishes the first guidance document to help assess the risks of plant protection products on bee health, focusing on honey bees, bumble bees, and solitary bees.
EFSA publishes a guidance document on tiered risk assessment for plant protection products for aquatic organisms in edge-of-field surface waters.
2010
EFSA publishes a scientific opinion on the development of specific protection goal (SPG) options for environmental risk assessment (ERA) of plant protection products. The approach aimed to protect ecosystem services Benefits to human or animal populations provided by an ecosystem, such as food or fuel provision, natural medicinal ingredients, and maintenance of soil fertility and biodiversity, considering spatial and temporal scales.
2008
EFSA publishes a scientific opinion on the evaluation of how temperature affects the breakdown of plant protection products in soil, highlighting the need for further research.

EFSA's role

We give independent scientific advice to EU legislators based on our risk assessments. The European Commission and EU Member States take  risk management The management of risks which have been identified by risk assessment. It includes the planning, implementation and evaluation of any resulting actions taken to protect consumers, animals and the environment decisions on how to regulate pesticides, including the approval of active substances and setting legal limits for pesticide residues in food and feed (maximum residue levels, or MRLs).

Before an active substance can be used within a plant protection product in the EU, it must get approval from the European Commission.

EFSA is responsible for carrying out the peer review of the safety of pesticides in the EU, including an environmental risk assessment (ERA). An EU Member State carries out the initial risk assessment, which we peer review together with the EU Member States.

In July 2024, we set up a working group on ERA for terrestrial non-target organisms.

Our scientists also deliver independent scientific advice to EU legislators in the form of guidance documents and scientific opinions on the impacts of PPPs on the environment.

For more on our role on pesticides, see:

EU framework

Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 sets rules for approving and using plant protection products in the EU
Regulation (EU) No 546/2011 implements Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, setting uniform principles for evaluating and authorising plant protection products in the EU
Commission regulations (EU) No 283/2013 and No 284/2013 set out the data requirements for active substances and plant protection products

EU legislation on the authorisation of pesticides – European Commission

Engagement

Stakeholder discussion group

EFSA established a stakeholder discussion group on environmental risk assessment (ERA) to serve as a platform for collaboration between EFSA and experts working in the field of ERA. The members of the stakeholder discussion group on ERA can be found here. Details on the scope, composition and roles are outlined in the Framework for interaction.