MODPEST


	About MODPEST The project MODELLING PESTICIDE DYNAMICS IN VEGETABLES AND ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN HEALTH RISKS (MODPEST) aims at developing an experimental demonstration model which works as a system and which will have as results an integrated risk assessment instrument validated at laboratory level by combining experimental field data with risk modelling. In this context, the MODPEST project addresses as a primary scope, the issue of human health - a key issue of social policy and government, at national and international levels – from modelling pesticide dynamics to human health risks associated with the presence of pesticide residues in vegetable products. The fundamental objective of the proposal is closely linked with national and international social policies aiming at improving the quality of life. For this purpose, we intend to develop a new consistent framework which determines the experimental evaluation by modelling the consequences of applying treatments with pesticides in different growth stages of fruits and vegetables and their associated health risks. These issues are related primarily to mass distribution of pesticides in fruits and vegetables along the phenological development stages and at the final stage, at harvest, or in some cases at two months after harvest. The MODPEST project develops a demonstration system with maximum public interest and priority, since risks to human health are addressed in an integrated manner. The project will have as results due to its goals, some innovative solutions which will allow a further application of the results in the estimation of human health risks due to pesticides residues available in different concentrations in fruits and vegetables. The solutions provided by our proposal underline the internationally competitiveness given the current state of the art. Novelty and relevance The originality and obvious innovation of MODPEST proposal given by the implementation of the available information within our research group and the state of the art in the field can be summarized as follows: novelty consists, first, in the integrated manner developed in the MODPEST proposal, by providing human health and environmental benefits, which will lead to a new vision on quantifying the risk to human health due to the presence of pesticides in certain plant products; the project will focus from our knowledge for the first time, as shown by the state of the art, on a modelling approach of the mass transfer of pesticides in different vegetable products and on a comparative human health risk evaluation carried out by a Monte-Carlo type probability approach and on the estimation of acute and chronic exposures based on already available methods established by the USEPA regulations the literature review highlights the feasibility of the proposal approach associating skills from chemical and environmental engineering and modelling with risk assessment approaches and human health the deliverables of the project will provide data for assessing a favorable framework for new perspectives on continuous monitoring and risks of pesticides application in practice The basic experimental information gathered during the development of the experiments (2008-2013) creates the proper environment of the MODPEST project start from TRL2. At this stage, the scientific principles are focused on a specific application area which defines the concept. The fundamental analyses on degradation of pesticides residues in fruits and vegetables were developed in field experiments, while additional testing shows that the implemented technology meets specified acceptance criteria. Analytical tools were developed for analysis. This information creates a proper manner for the results integration into a risk assessment implementation strategy, which allows data evaluation, validation and implementation (TRL4).