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PA PUBLIC INVITED TO ASSIST EPA IN PRIORITIZING PESTICIDES

Release Date: 5/28/96
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PA PUBLIC INVITED TO ASSIST EPA IN PRIORITIZING PESTICIDES

FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, MAY 28, 1996

PUBLIC INVITED TO ASSIST EPA IN PRIORITIZING PESTICIDES FOR REREGISTRATION IN FISCAL YEAR 1997

EPA is announcing its plans for pesticide reregistration decisions in fiscal years l996 and l997 and inviting comment to help set priorities for action in l997. EPA is interested in knowing which pesticides on a list of potential candidates for decisions in FY l997 are of the greatest interest or concern to the public from a human health or environmental perspective, and why, so that the limited resources of the Office of Pesticide Programs may be focused most effectively. EPA is using risk-based criteria to select pesticides as candidates for reregistration decisions, giving the highest priority to those pesticides with the greatest potential for dietary, occupational and residential exposure and risk. The 1988 Amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act require EPA to reregister all pesticides first registered before Nov. 1, l984. Reregistration consists of obtaining a substantially complete set of data on each pesticide chemical in accord with current scientific standards, scientifically evaluating the potential health and environmental effects, and determining what risk mitigation measures may be needed. When EPA has reevaluated a pesticide and is satisfied that it will not pose unreasonable risks to human health or the environment when used in accordance with label directions, the Agency will issue a document called a Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED). A RED on a pesticide active ingredient indicates that products containing this active ingredient are eligible or ineligible for reregistration and continued use. EPA issued a record 40 REDs in FY l995 and expects to complete another 40 in FY 1996 from a list of the following 50 candidates: alachlor, aldicarb, amitrole, B.popilliae & b.lentimorb, bromacil, bromadiolone, bromethalin, captan, chlorothalonil, chlorpyrifos, colletotrichum gloesporioides spores, coumaphos, cryolite, DEET, desmedipham, dibromodicyanobutane, dichlobenil, dicofol, diflubenzuron, dimethyloxazolidine, ethion, fenamiphos, fenthion, gibberellic acid, hydroprene, hydroxyethyl octyl sulfide, hydroxypropyl methanethiosulfonate, mepiquat chloride, methylene bisthiocyanate, methylisothiazoline, metribuzin, mitinFF, naled, 4- nitrophenol, norflurazon, NPV (nuclear polyhedral viruses) inclusion bodies, paraquat dichloride, p-chlor-m-cresol, pendimethalin, phorate, profenofos, propoxur, strychnine, tanol derivatives, terbufos, tridencenyl acetate, troysan KK-108A, vanicide, vinclozolin, and virelure.

EPA's goal is to complete an additional 40 REDs in FY l997. These will consist of several from the list above, the following l7 pesticides for which the Agency has begun scientific assessments, plus others from the list of over 80 noted below: benomyl, bromoxynil, butralin, cypermethrin, DEF, dimethoate, fluvalinate, fonofos, methidathion, oxamyl, oxyfluorfen, PCNB, permethrin, sulprofos, thiobencarb, thiodicarb, and triclopyr. The Agency is seeking public input in prioritizing the following for reregistration, approximately 15 of which will be completed in l997: 2,4-D, 2,4-DB, 2,4-DP, 

acrolein, allethrin, arsenal, azadioxabicyclooctane, azinphos-methyl, bendiocarb, benfluralin, bensulide, benzisothiaszolin-3-one, bioban P- 1487, bis(bromoacetoxy)-2-butene, brodifacoum, bromonitrostyrene, cacodylic acid, calcium polysulfide, carbofuran, chlorine dioxide, chloroneb, chloropicrin, chlorphacinone, chlorsulfuron, coal tar/creosote, cycloate, dazomet, diiodomethyl p-tolyl sulfone, dipropyl isocinchomeronate, dikegulac sodium, diphacinone, diphenylamine, diuron, EPTC, endosulfan, flumetralin, fluometuron, formaldehyde, formetanate HCL, grotan, iprodione, irgasan, malathion, MCPB, mefluidide and salts, methomyl, methyl esters of fatty acids, napthalene, octhilinone, oil of pennyroyal, oxadiazon, oxydemeton methyl (ODM), oxythioquinox, pentachlorophenol, perbulate, phenmedipham, phenol, phosmet, pine oil, piperonyl butoxide, pirimiphos-methyl, prometon, propanil, propetamphos, propylene oxide, pyrazon, pyrethrin, pryimidinone (amdro), sethoxydim, siduron, sodium bisulfite and sulfur dioxide, sodium chlorate, sulfonated oleic acid, sumithrin, telone, terbacil, terrazole, tetramethrin, thiabendazole, triallate, zinc omadine, and zinc phosphide. In l988 approximately 600 groups of related pesticide active ingredients or cases representing 45,000 formulated products required reevaluation or reregistration. Over 200 cases and 20,000 products have been canceled because producers failed to provide the necessary data to support them or EPA has taken regulatory action to cancel them. Of the remaining 382 cases being supported, EPA has issued REDs on l29 to date, which is more than one-third of the way toward completing the reregistration program. Comments are due by July l5 and should be identified with the docket number "OPP-34093" and addressed to: OPP Pesticide Docket (7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. EPA, 401 M St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20460.

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