Potential routes of exposure as a foundation for a risk assessment scheme: a Conceptual Model

Abstract

Background: The global interest in improving the regulatory risk assessment of pesticides in honeybees and other pollinator insects has led to new test requirements and a conceptual model has been published in the US. It is of interest for modellers and risk assessors to have a more detailed conceptual model that describes the movement of deleterious substances from the point of initial exposure to the point of impact on the protection goals, such as colony health, or honey production.
Results: The flow of pesticide residues from application to distribution in the hive is described in an integrated conceptual model. The significance of this model for assessing the relative contribution of various potential routes of exposure, guiding test requirements and describing the quantitative distribution of residues among the castes and task groups of honeybees in the colony was described using data from studies with chlorpyrifos and several neonicotinoids.
Conclusion: The quantitative pollinator conceptual model (QPCM) describes the flow pathways and potential exposure routes for honeybees and other bee pollinators in sufficient detail to support quantitative exposure modelling and risk assessment and shows the importance of measuring the distribution of pesticide residues in the areas that lead to exposure and in the hive.