Is the EU Drinking Water Directive Standard for Pesticides in Drinking Water Consistent with the Precautionary Principle?
Is the EU Drinking Water Directive Standard for Pesticides in Drinking Water Consistent with the Precautionary Principle?
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DOI：
10.1021/es304955g
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发表时间：
2013-05-21
影响因子：
11.4
通讯作者：
Whelan, Mick J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dolan, Tom;Howsam, Peter;Whelan, Mick J.
基于预防原则的监管应该进行全面的。评估所有可用的科学和技术数据，以确定认识不确定性的来源。在欧洲联盟（欧盟），环境法规必须符合欧盟条约第174条规定的原则，提供高水平的保护，并符合预防原则。饮用水中的农药目前由《饮用水指令》规定，最大允许浓度为0.1微克/升。这一标准（替代零）在1980年最初制定时与预防原则一致，在1998年保留时保持一致。然而，鉴于欧盟农药和水政策的发展，在监管农药的国际经验，以及越来越多的知识农药毒性，可以说，监管机构所面临的认知不确定性的水平已大幅下降。在本文中，我们研究的程度，这样的发展，现在挑战的基础上，欧洲饮用水标准的农药和物质，有很好的毒理学的理解，监管方法的基础上，世界卫生组织（WHO）的指导价值（GV）的方法将更符合欧洲环境政策的原则。
Regulations based on the precautionary principle should undertake a comprehensive. assessment of all available scientific and technical data to identify sources of epistemic uncertainty. In the European Union (EU), environmental regulation is required to fulfill the principles established in Article 174 of the EU Treaty, such that it offers a high level of protection and is consistent with the precautionary principle. Pesticides in drinking water are currently regulated by the Drinking Water Directive using a maximum allowable concentration of 0.1 mu g/L. This standard (a surrogate zero) was consistent with the precautionary principle when it was originally set in 1980 and remained consistent when retained in 1998. However, given developments in EU pesticide and water policy, international experience in regulating pesticides, and an increasing knowledge of pesticide toxicity, it can be argued that the level of epistemic uncertainty faced by regulators has substantially decreased. In this paper, we examine the extent to which such developments now challenge the basis of European drinking water standards for pesticides and whether, for substances for which there is good toxicological understanding, a regulatory approach based upon the World Health Organization (WHO) Guideline Value (GV) methodology would be more consistent with the principles underpinning European environmental policy.