Tecnalia and Aenor are collaborating in the project LIFE BIOREG "Field and laboratory methods for the environmental evaluation of biocides within the European regulatory framework", which main objective is to improve the quality and strength of biocidal risk assessment. The project aims to develop new methodologies that will provide precise and robust data for conducting risk assessment of biocidal products, as well as more information on the influence on risk of different environmental parameters.
The impact of biocidal products on the environment is significant and this has led to increased regulation in recent years. The European regulatory framework for biocides is established in the new Biocidal Product Regulation, which came into force on the 1st September 2013.
This European legislation establishes the need to carry out risk assessments for biocidal products and specifies data requirements to perform them. A crucial measurement is the risk coefficient, as calculated by the PEC/PNEC ratio. A biocidal product is considered to be environmentally acceptable if the Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC) is higher than the Predicted Environmental Concentration (PEC).
The project BIOREG specifically aims to establish a scientifically validated methodology for the risk assessment of film preservatives and masonry preservatives.
The Urban Environmental Health Laboratory of Tecnalia will optimize laboratory and semi-field experimental methods to determine the leaching rate of active ingredients. It will then assess the ecotoxicity of the leachates obtained in the laboratory and semi-field studies and correlate the results with the ecotoxicological data obtained from pure formulated products.
Aenor, the Spanish association for standardization, will explore the possibility of defining standardized procedures at European level for determining leaching, with the purpose of increasing the impact of the project results on the market.
The BIOREG project expects to determine the main factors affecting the results and performance of leaching tests and the most important parameters for environmental risk assessment.
This innovative project receives funding from the European Commission within the LIFE+ Environmental Policy & Governance 2012.