Pesticide Emission Quantification for Life Cycle Assessment: A Global Consensus Building Process

Abstract

An international effort was initiated to reach agreement on recommended default agricultural pesticide emission fractions for use in LCA. Consensual decisions on the assessment framework include（a）primary distributions are used as inputs for life cycle impact assessment（LCIA）,（b）framework and LCA application guidelines and documentation are compiled,（c）the emission framework is based on modifying an existing emission model,（d）drift values are provided by drift modelers,（e）pesticide application methods are complemented to develop scenarios for tropical regions,（f）climate, soil and application scenarios are based on sensitivity analysis,（g）default emission estimates for LCA are derived from production-weighted averages, and（h）emission fractions are reported spatially disaggregated. Based on these decisions, we recommend that（a）LCA studies should state whether the agricultural field belongs to technosphere or ecosphere,（b）additional information – e.g. pesticide mass applied – needs to be reported,（c）emissions after primary and secondary distribution should be reported,（d）LCIA methods should allow for treating the field as part of technosphere and ecosphere,（e）fate and exposure processes including crop uptake should be covered in LCIA,（f）default emission estimates should be used in absence of detailed scenarios, and（g）all assumptions should be reported.