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A brief history of risk assessment for agrochemicals

  • Keith R. Solomon ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: June 4, 2024
Pure and Applied Chemistry
From the journal Pure and Applied Chemistry Volume 96 Issue 11

Abstract

Risk assessment of pesticides has its roots in the same process for chemicals in general, both of which are relatively recent. Pesticides such as oxides of sulfur and some minerals were also used by early civilizations but the concepts of dose-response and risk as a probability were only documented in the literature (books) in the 1500s and 1600s, respectively. Formal use of toxic dose and safety factors for humans was developed as inorganic and organic pesticides entered the market after the 1930s, but only made use of simple hazard ratios to characterize danger. This approach continued until adoption of the concept of probability of exposure of humans to pesticides via dietary exposure, but not sensitivity of humans. It was in 1980s–90s that the use of probability was suggested as a way of characterizing variation in sensitivity of species in the environment as well as the exposures in environmental matrices. As we move into the future, risk assessment of agrochemicals will evolve to include new frameworks and approaches for dealing with conflicting data, such as Weight of Evidence.

Keywords: Exposure; hazard; history; pesticide; probability; risk assessment
Corresponding author: Keith R. Solomon, University Professor Emeritus, School of Environmental Sciences, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada; and University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada, e-mail:
Article note: This paper is based on presentation to the audience of a session at the 2023 ACS AGRO meeting in San Francisco on August 16, 2023. On this occasion, the author was presented with an award from IUPAC; the “IUPAC International Award for Advances in Harmonized Approaches to Crop Protection Chemistry”. The title of this paper is modified from the much-admired book by Stephen Hawkins “A Brief History of Time”.

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Published Online: 2024-06-04
Published in Print: 2024-11-26

© 2024 IUPAC & De Gruyter

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https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2024-0215
Keywords for this article
Exposure; hazard; history; pesticide; probability; risk assessment

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. In this issue
  3. IUPAC Technical Reports
  4. Terms of Latin origin relating to sample characterization (IUPAC Technical Report)
  5. Glossary of terms used in biochar research (IUPAC Technical Report)
  6. Properties and units in the clinical laboratory sciences. Part XXVIII. NPU codes for characterizing subpopulations of the hematopoietic lineage, described from their clusters of differentiation molecules (IUPAC Technical Report)
  7. Special Topic: Mass spectrometry congress in Italy – MASSA 2023l; Guest Editor: Giuliana Bianco
  8. Milk protein polymorphisms of Aosta Valley cattle breeds
  9. Capabilities and drawbacks of mass spectrometry in the forensic field: analysis of real cases dealing with toxicology and explosives
  10. Mapping the distribution of bioactive compounds and aroma/flavour precursors in green coffee beans with an integrated mass spectrometry-based approach
  11. Fire fighters and mass spectrometry: from the world of combustion to the molecular ion
  12. Special Topic: IUPAC Distinguished Women in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Awards 2023; Guest Editor: Mary J. Garson
  13. Method development for multielement determination of halogens and sulfur in teas
  14. Regular Review Article
  15. A brief history of risk assessment for agrochemicals
  16. Regular Research Articles
  17. Capture of volatile iodine by aromatic amines solutions
  18. Facile and green hydrothermal synthesis of MgAl/NiAl/ZnAl layered double hydroxide nanosheets: a physiochemical comparison
  19. Production of oil palm mesocarp fiber-based hydrogel using selected cross-linking acids
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