Ideas on how pesticides containing nano-scale components could be regulated

What is it about?

Pesticides are a heavily regulated group of chemical compounds, as they are highly bioactivie / toxic to the species they are used to control. As more sophisticated pesticides are developed, including ones utilising nanotechnologies (the science of the very small) to protect and/or transport the pesticide, or indeed to confer a new mechanism of controlling the target species, there may be need for additional testing or changes to the existing tests to ensure their safe use.

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Why is it important?

The framework proposed here suggests that as long as the pesticide is associated with the nanoscale component it may need additional testing, whereas once it reverts back to the free pesticide it is no longer nano, and thus is assessed as usual. The framework also provides a rational basis for consdiering what additional testing may be needed for the nano-pesticide depending on the function of the nano-component and its effect on the pesticide mobility and fate in the environment.