EPA Provides Supply Chain Flexibility and Reduced Burden for Pesticide Registrants with Expanded List of Commodity Inert Ingredients for Pesticides

Released on September 7, 2022

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding 16 inert ingredients to the Commodity Inert Ingredients List. This action is intended to reduce regulatory burden and increase supply chain flexibility while maintaining EPA’s stringent human health and environmental standards under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

When registering or amending a pesticide product, pesticide applicants and registrants must complete a Confidential Statement of Formula (CSF). The CSF lists all of the product’s components, including inert ingredients, and their percent by weight along with various additional information. Generally, EPA requires that applicants and registrants include the name and address of an ingredient’s supplier on the CSF.

However, inert ingredients that are designated as commodity inert ingredients can be obtained from different producers with no significant differences in the ingredient. Therefore, when completing the CSF, applicants for pesticide registration or registration amendments can obtain commodity inert ingredients from various commercial sources without having to provide EPA with the supplier’s name or address. Only inert ingredients designated as commodity inert ingredients are eligible for reduced CSF reporting.

It is important to note, reduced CSF reporting does not apply to substances on the commodity inert ingredients list when used as an active ingredient in a pesticide product. Reduced reporting only applies to commodity inert ingredients that are used solely as an inert ingredient in a product.

New commodity inert ingredients include:

• C9 rich aromatic hydrocarbons (CAS Reg. No. 64742-95-6)
• C10-11 rich aromatic hydrocarbons (CAS Reg. No. 64742-94-5)
• C11-12 rich aromatic hydrocarbons (CAS Reg. No. 64742-94-5)
•  Ammonium acetate (CAS Reg. No. 631-61-8)
• Benzenesulfonic acid, C10-16-alkyl derivs (CAS Reg. No. 68584-22-5)
• Boric acid (CAS Reg. No. 10043-35-3) 2-Butoxyethanol (CAS Reg. No. 111-76-2)
• Hydroxyacetic acid (CAS Reg. No. 79-14-1)
• L-lactic acid (CAS Reg. No. 79-33-4)
• d-Limonene (CAS Reg. No. 5989-27-5)
• Propanol, 1(or 2)-(2-methoxymethylethoxy)- (CAS Reg. No. 34590-94-8)
• Sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate (CAS Reg. No. 25155-30-0)
• Sodium carbonate (CAS Reg. No. 497-19-8)
• Sodium xylene sulfonate (CAS Reg. No. 1300-72-7)
• Sulfonic acids, C14-C16 alkane hydroxy and C14-C16 alkene, sodium salts (CAS Reg. No. 68439-57-6)
• Trisodium phosphate (CAS Reg. No. 7601-54-9)

To see EPA’s list of commodity inert ingredients, visit EPA’s webpage.