that are simple to apply, such as control of the quantity of dust emitted in batches by means of a test in comparison with a threshold...or the use of seed drills fitted with devices to limit dust emissions. By their very nature, these types of incidents affecting bees and involving seed treatments are only liable to occur occasionally, since they require the emission of quantities that are toxic to bees. However, they reveal a dispersion of variable quantities of products used in film-coatings into the environment, and hence exposure that may have broader consequences, including on the health of the users of these products. This observation led the ICPBR to designate this sowing practice as “poor farming practice” and to therefore encourage the rapid implementation of measures designed to solve this dust problem on a European level. Germany Before the investigation of the incident was complete, the BVL suspended the authorization of eight seed treatment products on corn and canola. Upon completion of its investigation, the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection “banned for a period of 6 months the planting of maize by means of negative pressure pneumatic machines for single grain delivery; this ban applies to maize seeds treated with clothianidin or with one of three further insecticides.” Germany reauthorized the use of clothianidin as a seed treatment on canola in June 2008 after the Julius Kühn Institute submitted its findings that equipment and sticker problems associated with corn seed treatments in Germany are not applicable to canola. Furthermore, the German authorities explicitly required the use of additional sticker to ensure the pesticides adhere to the seeds. In June 2008, BVL concluded that “the treatment of rapeseed with clothianidin containing plant protection products does not put bee colonies at risk” but offered additional recommendations to better control dust and discouraging planting on windy days or using pneumatic seeding equipment that discharges air upward. In 2009, BVL decided to continue to suspend authorization for the use of clothianidin on corn, citing unanswered questions that remained about potential exposure of bees and other pollinators to neonicotinoid pesticides. United States Recognizing that the German incident resulted from a perfect storm of unusual factors, the United States Environmental Protection Agency took no regulatory action beyond confirming with “major seed suppliers and distributors, agricultural industry groups, and clothianidin’s registrant” that sticker use on corn seed is common practice in the