Probabilistic risk assessment can be used to estimate the frequency and magnitude of adverse effects, and to take account of variability and uncertainty. It is attracting increasing interest for many issues affecting health and the environment, and is currently being implemented for assessing ecological risks of pesticides in the USA.

The EUPRA workshop considered the potential of probabilistic methods for assessing ecological risks of pesticides in the EU. It was organised by the Central Science Laboratory (UK) with funding from the European Commission, and was held in the Netherlands in June 2001.

The workshop began by reviewing the state of the art, with 52 presentations by participants from government, industry, academia and non-governmental organisations. Detailed summaries of the presentations are included in the EUPRA report.

The participants examined the potential advantages and disadvantages of using probabilistic methods and concluded that they would be a useful addition to the tools for risk assessment, provided they were implemented appropriately to minimise potential disadvantages. It was recommended that the EU should adopt a coordinated, strategic approach to implementation, in collaboration with other countries and stakeholders.

The EUPRA report presents detailed recommendations for research and other actions to implement probabilistic methods. The recommendations include development of essential methods and data for probabilistic assessments; establishment of a framework of guidance on how to use probabilistic methods and communicate the results; research to validate probabilistic approaches; measures to facilitate the uptake of probabilistic methods by end users; and procedures for peer review of assessments.

The EUPRA report also includes contact details for relevant research studies that were already underway at the time of the workshop.