Appendix 6: Detailed Description of the Proposed Overall Risk Assessment Scheme

摘要

The most important route of exposure of honey bees to plant protection products for spray applications is by direct exposure to field sprays. In some cases, exposure of bees is not possible and there is no need for a detailed assessment of risks, suchas in the case of products used during winter when bees are not foraging, pre-emergent herbicides where plants may not be present to forage on, indoor residential uses and uses in glasshouses where bees are not used for pollination. However, in any scenario where, irrespective of the timing of application, the presence of residues in flowers cannot be excluded the potential for bee exposure should be considered.The attractiveness of the crop to honey bees may be considered as an entry point for this risk assessment. Useful guidance in this respect may be found in the MRL Working Group publication (EC, 2009) which includes additional criteria to consider, such as the presence of other sources of nectar or pollen in the foraging area. In general, a crop can be considered as unattractive to bees when it is harvested before flowering. Some plants that are intrinsically unattractive to bees may be visited by bees because of extra floral nectaries (e.g., in field beans) or honeydew produced by aphids. As a basis for applying the assessment scheme depicted in Figure A6.1, full details of the product and the intended use must be available. (-> 2)