LGC AXIO Proficiency Testing | Emerging Pollutants of Environmental Concern | Volume 1 | Neonicotinoids
neither scientifically nor legally appropriate. In contrast the approval of a fifth neonicotinoid, thiacloprid was withdrawn on 3 February 2020 after a peer review of the risk assessment which had been carried out. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed interim decisions for five neonicotinoid chemicals which aim to: • Keep pesticides on the intended target • Require additional personal protective equipment • Place restrictions on when pesticides can be applied to blooming crops • Advise homeowners against the use of neonicotinoid products • Cancel the use of imidacloprid on residential turf
History & Legislation
Neonicotinoids were developed in the 1980s, and the first commercially available compound, imidacloprid, has been in use since the early 1990s [4]. The first neonicotinoid was approved for use as a plant protection product in the EU in 2005. Additional neonicotinoid insecticides were subsequently approved as active substances in the EU for the use in plant protection products, namely clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, acetamiprid and thiacloprid.
As a result of numerous scientific studies on the link between neonicotinoid usage and honey bee mortality [5], legislation of neonicotinoids has focussed on restricting their use in order to protect non-target insects, particularly honey bees. In 2013, the European Commission severely restricted the use of plant protection products and treated seeds containing three of these neonicotinoids (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam) to protect honey bees (Regulation (EU) No 485/2013). This legislation prohibited the use of the three neonicotinoids in bee-attractive crops and required the applicants for the three substances to provide further data to confirm the safety of the uses still allowed. Following the assessment of this confirmatory information by the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) the remaining outdoor uses could no longer be considered safe due to the identified risks to bees. Therefore, in 2017 the Commission services prepared three proposals to completely ban the outdoor uses of the three active substances. Other EU decisions and subsequent regulations have been introduced for other neonicotinoids; acetamiprid was identified by EFSA as a low risk to bees and a ban or further restrictions of this substance were therefore considered to be
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