News & Publications

The Ecotox Centre is working with the National Soil Monitoring Programme (NABO) / Agroscope and EnviBioSoil on a concept for monitoring pesticide residues in Swiss agricultural soils. The project is part of the federal government's action plan for risk reduction and sustainable use of pesticides. Project manager and soil ecotoxicologist Mathieu Renaud reports on the progress made so far.

UV filters from sunscreens have been detected in Swiss lakes in concentrations that in some cases exceed the provisional environmental quality criteria. In both lakes and experimental ponds, lipophilic UV filters such as octocrylene tend to accumulate at the water surface. Additional data on behaviour and toxicity in sediments is currently being collected in order to refine the quality criteria.

A comprehensive screening of five Swiss watercourses detected 135 pesticides, many of which exceeded ecotoxicological quality criteria. At four locations, there was a high risk to aquatic organisms over a period of several weeks, mainly due to insecticides. Input via wastewater treatment plants also contributed to pesticide pollution.