EPA reports on progress of pesticide review work

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued information regarding work to comply with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). 726 records that occurred before October 2007 are under review.

Pesticides without a review completed after this deadline may remain on the market and be used in accordance with the product label. EPA affirms its plan to review all remaining pesticide cases and issue rulings to protect humans, endangered species, and the environment, while providing pesticide users with predictability about the legal status of pesticides in registration review.

Below is specific information about EPA's activities.

Over the past 15 years, EPA:

• Completed 685 minutes of risk assessments (94% of the total number of cases), evaluating the human health potential and ecological effects of a pesticide;

• Completed 633 interim or final decisions (87% of the total number of cases) that present EPA's responses to public comments on draft risk assessments and that propose mitigations and/or label restrictions so that a pesticide product can continue to be used safely;

• Issued 431 interim decisions (60% of the total number of cases), which explain any changes to what was proposed, respond to significant public comments, and require registrants to submit any product label changes necessary to protect human health and the environment environment; - EPA's issuance of interim decisions is an important way in which EPA has ensured crucial protections for human health and the environment and provided pesticide registrants and growers with some regulatory certainty;

• Issued 151 final decisions (21% of the total number of cases), which document any changes to what was proposed, respond to significant public comments, and require registrants to submit any product label changes necessary to protect human health and the environment environment;

• Of the 582 interim or final decisions, 140 cases resulted in the cancellation of some or all uses (19% of the total number of cases).

Regarding conventional pesticides, the EPA:

• Completed 99% of risk assessment projects, completed more than 90% of proposed interim decisions and issued more than 80% of final or interim decisions;

• Canceled some or all uses in 25% of cases with final or interim decisions;

• Required human health and/or ecological risk mitigation in nearly 70% of cases for which EPA concluded interim or final decisions;

• Required new or additional personal protective equipment and/or engineering controls for 98% of cases in which EPA required mitigations to protect human health;

• Reduced the required application rate in 60% of cases, changes to restricted entry intervals in 30% of cases, and cancellation of use in 20% of cases where EPA required mitigations to protect human health.

• Imposed institutional requirements to reduce pesticide drift in 80% of cases where it required mitigations to protect against ecological risks;

• Established requirements to reduce pesticide runoff, such as no-spray buffer zones, vegetative filter strips, or application rate reductions for more than 20% of cases where it required mitigations to protect against ecological risks.

Of the 726 cases, 265 are non-conventional pesticides (140 antimicrobial pesticides and 125 biopesticides).

Pesticides antimicrobial are intended to disinfect, sanitize, reduce or mitigate the growth or development of microbiological organisms, or prevent contamination caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, algae or slime.

Os biopesticides are pesticides derived from natural materials such as animals, plants, bacteria and certain minerals.

For these cases, EPA:

• Issued full final or interim decisions for 71% of antimicrobial cases;

• Canceled some or all uses in more than 30% of antimicrobial cases with interim or final decisions;

• Finalized human health or ecological risk mitigation for nearly 30% of antimicrobial cases, with interim or final decisions;

• Increased personal protective equipment requirements or engineering controls for more than 65% of antimicrobial cases in which EPA required mitigations to protect human health;

• Final or interim decisions completed for 98% of biopesticides cases.

There are still 144 cases to analyze. The agency points out several reasons for the delay. 

CURRENT RULE

The current rule on records, contained in Section 7 of the United States Code, states:

[...]

(g) Registration review (1) General rule

(A) Periodic review (i) In general

The registrations of pesticides are to be periodically reviewed.

(ii) Regulations

In accordance with this subparagraph, the Administrator shall by regulation establish a procedure for carrying out the periodic review of registrations.

(iii) Initial registration review

The Administrator shall complete the registration review of each pesticide or pesticide case, which may be composed of 1 or more active ingredients and the products associated with the active ingredients, not later than the later of -

(I) October 1, 2022; or

(II) the date that is 15 years after the date on which the first pesticide containing a new active ingredient is registered.

(iv) Subsequent registration review

Not later than 15 years after the date on which the initial registration review is completed under clause (iii) and each 15 years thereafter, the Administrator shall complete a subsequent registration review for each pesticide or pesticide case.

(v) Cancellation

No registration shall be canceled as a result of the registration review process unless the Administrator follows the procedures and substantive requirements of section 136d of this title.

[...]

Anyone interested in reading the original version of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) can find it at the link below. It should be noted that there are several changes. The file serves as a historical reference only: