Are biocide emissions into the environment already at alarming levels?

More than 43,000 biocidal products were registered on the German market alone at the beginning of 2017, including disinfectants, preservatives, pest control and anti-fouling products. All biocides act as intended on living organisms and can enter the environment. Although some biocides have already been found in relevant environmental concentrations, they are still insufficiently considered in monitoring studies or routine monitoring programs. The UBA has therefore developed recommendations for future, specific surveys of the environmental pollution through biocides. Also new lists of prioritised biocidal active substances and relevant transformation products have been created.

The German Environment Agency has updated the substance lists of the report published in 2017, as new biocidal active substances have been approved, further assessment reports have been submitted and new scientific findings have been obtained. In addition, two new substance lists on soil contamination in urban areas and the uptake by terrestrial biota and on the contamination of groundwater in urban areas were developed, which were not yet taken into account in the 2017 report. See "addendum".