0000000000464731
AUTHOR
F. Castiglia
From non-target risk assessment to Bt resistance management: the example of Bt Brassica sp. and Pieridae
Insecticidal toxins produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been widely used in plant protection in two different ways: 1) by spraying bacterial Bt formulations, 2) by expressing their gene encoding in planta. In the second strategy, only the transgenic plants themselves are protected but insect- resistant plants could spread into natural habitats and/or the gene could be fixed in alternative hosts. It is necessary to estimate the magnitude of the possible effects on naturally occurring herbivorous insects but also on the target species, especially when they have several alternative hosts, as in the case of Pieridae. They are present both in agriculture where they could be considered p…
Fuzzy fault tree analysis in modern γ-ray industrial irradiator: Use of fuzzy version of HEART and CREAM techniques for human error evaluation
As well known, the lack of accurate quantitative human reliability data is a serious limitation and source of uncertainty in risk assessment. Therefore, in the last years, many Authors suggested that the use of the fuzzy sets theory can fill up this gap, performing as useful tool when dealing with qualitative or vague information. In such a framework, the present paper refers to the obtained results by using Fuzzy Fault Tree analyses of accidental scenarios which entail the potential exposure of operators working in γ-ray irradiation industrial plant. For these analyses the HEART methodology, a first generation HRA (Human Reliability Analysis) method, has been employed to evaluate the proba…
Preliminary selection of non-target Lepidoptera species for ecological risk assessment of Bt canola in Sicily
It is essential to assess the environmental risk that Bt canola resistant to Lepidopteran pests may hold and to study its effect on species assemblages that fulfil a variety of ecosystem functions. Environmental risk assessment can be improved through the use of an ecological model which can be applied to a specific environment, so that local species can be classified functionally and prioritized to identify potential test species. Several other Lepidoptera species are also directly exposed to Bt toxin. In this paper an ecological approach was followed for selection of non-target Lepidoptera species for ecological risk assessment of Bt canola in Sicily, using data collected over a one-year …