Development of a modelling tool for pesticide spray drift

Title	Development of a modelling tool for pesticide spray drift
SubTitle	Phase 1: Data gathering and feasibility testing.
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Author	Rimmer, D. A., Johnson, P.D. and Kelsey, A. for HSE.
Series Code	RR
Series Number	498
Publisher	HSE BOOKS
Date of Publication	2006
Length	72 pages
Stock Code	RR498
Notes	research report 498. (RR498) (RR 498) WEB VERSION ONLY
Abstract	The project was originally conceived as having four phases and this document reports on phase 1. Work on phase 2 has commenced but phases 3 and 4 are presently in abeyance whilst work of a complementary nature is being taken forward by others in response to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution report "Crop spraying and the health of residents and bystanders" (RCP, 2005). The overall aim of the HSE project was to develop a robust computational modelling tool that would (a) assist HSE/FOD staff with the investigation of pesticide spraydrift incidents and (b) support enforcement action. It was envisaged that the model would have been capable of working in two ways after an event:to predict spraydrift patterns using data on operating conditions obtained during the investigation; and to predict operating parameters or incident scenarios using deposition data obtained from samples of soil, vegetation or water taken from the investigation site. In the latter case, any information on operating parameters obtained from the investigation would have facilitated the model and would have improved its accuracy and reliability. It was anticipated that, if successfully developed, the tool would have been laptop based enabling HSE inspectors or Field Scientists to rapidly and consistently gather information and respond to complaints. This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy.
Keywords	Pesticide; Crop spraying; Agriculture; Spraying; Research