EPA Pesticide Program Update
from EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs 09/28/01
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides
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IN THIS UPDATE:
1) WORKSHOP TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE WITH
REGISTRATION OF BIOPESTICIDES
2) DIAZINON CANCELLATION REQUESTS FOR
INDOOR AND CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL and
NON-AGRICULTURAL OUTDOOR USES PUBLISHED
3) EPA ANNOUNCES VOLUNTARY CANCELLATION
REQUEST FOR ETHION
4) VOLUNTARY CANCELLATIONS PROPOSED FOR
FENAMIPHOS AND METOLACHLOR
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1) WORKSHOP TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE WITH
REGISTRATION OF BIOPESTICIDES
To help facilitate the registration of low-risk alternative
pesticides, EPA is announcing a workshop to provide
participants with a better understanding of the biopesticide
registration process in the United States, Canada and the
state of California. The workshop will be held in
Arlington, VA, on November 13-15, 2001. The co-hosts
will be EPA, Canada's Pest Management Regulatory
Agency, California's Department of Pesticide Regulation
and the Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4), an
organization that helps develop pest-management solutions
for low-acreage crops. The workshop will guide
participants through the process of registering
biopesticides, including microbials, pheromones,
biochemicals and genetically-engineered plant-incorporated
protectants. Topics will include the biopesticide
registration submission process, good laboratory practice
requirements, scientific assessments and maintenance of
existing registrations. Anyone currently involved in
development, manufacturing and sales of biopesticides is
especially encouraged to attend. The workshop will be
held at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Va. For
additional information, contact Cheryl Ferrazoli at IR-4
Headquarters at 732-932-9575, ext. 601.
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2) DIAZINON CANCELLATION REQUESTS FOR
INDOOR AND CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL AND
NON-AGRICULTURAL OUTDOOR USES PUBLISHED
On September 13, EPA published in the Federal Register
the Notice of Receipt of Cancellation Requests and
Amendments for diazinon. It states that registrants have
requested that registrations for end-use products be
canceled. End-use products for all indoor and certain
agricultural and non-agricultural outdoor uses are to be
canceled. Retail sale of existing stocks of products labeled
for indoor uses listed in this notice, except mushroom
houses, will not be lawful after December 31, 2002. Retail
purchasers may continue to use canceled products in
accordance with existing labels.
An earlier request for cancellation of diazinon technical
products was published on January 10, 2001, and the
cancellation order terminating those registrations became
effective when it was published in the Federal Register on
May 2, 2001 (66 FR 21967). On May 30, EPA published
notice of voluntary cancellation requests for several
registrants; the final cancellation order for these products
was published July 19. Later notices of voluntary
cancellation will be published for end use products not
included in the May 30 notice.
EPA must receive comments on the September 13 notice by
October 15, 2001, identified by docket number OPP-34225.
The Federal Register notice is available on EPA's Web site
(www.epa.gov/fedrgstr). EPA's risk assessment for
diazinon is available at
www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/diazinon.htm..
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3) EPA ANNOUNCES VOLUNTARY CANCELLATION
REQUEST FOR ETHION
On September 26, 2001, EPA published a notice of receipt
of registrants' request for voluntary cancellation of the
organophosphate pesticide ethion. Ethion is registered for
use on citrus in Florida and Texas and on cattle in ear tags.
According to the request for voluntary cancellation, sale of
manufacturing use products will end October 1, 2003. EPA
expects that use of such products would end by December
31, 2003. End-use products could be sold until October 1,
2004, and EPA expects use of these products would end
December 31, 2004. EPA will accept comments on this
notice until October 26, 2001. Comments must cite OPP
docket number OPP-00742. In addition, EPA will in the
future propose revocation of tolerances for ethion.
Comments on potential interest by individuals or groups in
supporting continuation of any existing tolerances also may
be submitted now. EPA's risk assessment documents for
ethion are available on the Internet at
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/ethion.htm.. This Federal
Register notice is available on the Internet at
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2001/September/Day-
26/p24060.htm .
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4) VOLUNTARY CANCELLATIONS PROPOSED FOR
FENAMIPHOS AND METOLACHLOR
EPA has received requests from the registrants for the
pesticides fenamiphos (Bayer Corp.) and metolachlor
(Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc.) to amend their
registrations to delete certain uses. These requests are in
response to the reregistration eligibility evaluation of these
individual pesticides.
EPA is reconsidering the tolerances (limits on pesticide
residues in foods) for metolachlor because of the additional
requirements of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of
1996. EPA plans to complete the tolerance reassessment
decision for this pesticide in 2002. In defining the scope of
the review, Syngenta has chosen to voluntarily drop certain
uses from the technical label: stone fruits and almond.
Fenamiphos is an organophosphate pesticide for which a
reregistration decision has not yet been reached. EPA plans
to issue an interim reregistration eligibility decision to
identify necessary risk reduction measures for this
individual pesticide. Bayer has requested to eliminate uses
of certain fenamiphos formulations on cotton and
pineapples.
EPA must receive comments by October 22, 2001,
identified by docket control number OPP-66292. This
announcement is available on EPA's Web site at
www.epa.gov/fedrgstr .
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EPA distributes its Pesticide Program Updates to external
stakeholders and citizens who have expressed an interest in
OPP activities and decisions. We have established an electronic
listserve for people who want to keep abreast of pesticide issues
and decisions. This update service is part of EPA' s continuing
effort to improve public access to Federal pesticide information.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to our automatic mailing list, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/cb/csb_page/form/form.html.
For general questions on pesticides and pesticide
poisoning prevention, contact the National Pesticide
Telecommunications Network (NPTN), toll-free, at:
1-800-858-7378, by e-mail at nptn@ace.orst.edu,
or by visiting its Web site at: http://ace.orst.edu/info/nptn.
For information about ongoing activities in the
Office of Pesticide Programs, visit our homepage
at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides.
Or call or write us directly at:
Communication Services Branch
Office of Pesticide Programs (7506C)
US Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004-2403
703-305-5017