Pesticide Dataset: EQS Indicators and Monitoring Stations

Pesticides are chemicals used to control weeds, insects and other pests in agricultural areas, and a variety of other land-use settings. Pesticides can be distinguished, from a regulatory point of view, among substances used in plant protection products and in biocidal products, which are used in various fields (disinfectants, wood preservatives, pesticides for non agricultural use, antifouling, etc.). The Regions and Autonomous Provinces carry out monitoring within the framework of the survey programmes provided for by Legislative Decree No. 152 of 3 April 2006 [D. Lgs. 152/2006], transmit the results to ISPRA, which processes and evaluates them. ISPRA provides the technical-scientific guidelines for the programming of monitoring. Moreover, the Institute feeds some of the indicators provided for by the National Action Plan for the sustainable use of plant protection products (NAP), established by the decree of 15 July 2015 [DM 172/2015]. The levels of contamination are compared with the regulatory limits for surface water and for groundwater. Environmental Quality Standards (EQS), set for surface water in the contest of the WFD, are concentrations of pollutants or group of pollutants in water, sediment or biota which should not be exceeded in order to protect human health and the environment. The derivation of EQS is based on the knowledge of the levels of acute and chronic toxicity of the species representative of three trophic levels of the aquatic environment. The Directive 2006/118/EC on the protection of groundwater, sets standards of environmental quality, defined as the concentrations which should not be exceeded in order to protect the human health and the environment. The dataset contains information on the register of monitoring stations and contamination levels obtained by comparison with legal limits (Environmental Quality Standards, EQS). For each monitoring point, it is possible to consult geographical information, contamination level, pesticides searched and found, and statistical data on monitoring.