Step 8. Decide whether bridging is possible
Based on the assessments in steps 4 to 7, the registration authority should decide whether bridging is possible. The exact parameters that need to be taken into account will differ depending on the type of risk that needs to be bridged.
Basically, the question that needs to be answered is whether any differences between the local and reference situation observed for the pesticide product, its hazard, exposure and risk mitigation measures rules out a comparison of risks.
This may, for instance, be case if the active ingredients have significantly different impurity profiles; or if key non-target species in the local situation are very different from the ones covered by the reference situation and it is not clear whether they are protected by the reference risk assessment; or if exposure parameters are not sufficiently described in the reference assessment and thus cannot be compared to the local situation.
In some cases, part of the reference risk assessment can be used for bridging (e.g. the hazard) but another part cannot (e.g. the exposure estimate). The latter then will need further assessment to be able to validly conduct step 9.
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