Methods of Comparing the Environmental Risks of Pesticides

Why compare the environmental risks of pesticides?

WIN-PST, was developed by USDA NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) and may be required for approval of NRCS conservation plans.

Thomas Greitens and Esther Day (Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems: 22(3): 213-222) evaluated eight pesticide risk indicators (WIN-PST was not among those evaluated).

Results of their evaluation showed that the EIQ and two others – a German model (SYNOPS) and the Multi-Attribute Toxicity Factor (MATF) – perform consistently and give valid results.

Explanations and references for all eight of the models evaluated are available at http://www.aftresearch.org/ipm/risk/index.php

PRIME or Pesticide Risk Mitigation Engine is a pesticide analysis tool developed by the IPM Institute of North America. Users can access the program free as guests but must pay a fee to use the data storage and spray record features.

The Pesticide Risk Indicator for Québec (IRPeQ) Health and Environment is an online tool that can be used to compare pesticide risks on farms and golf courses. It was developed by the Quebec Provincial Ministry Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks.

Note: If you are aware of other pesticide risk evaluation tools that may be useful and are not listed on these websites, please email: vegrec@yahoo.com