EPA Pesticide Program Update
from EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs 10/09/01
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides
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IN THIS UPDATE:

EPA RELEASES REPORT ON MINOR USE PESTICIDES
AND NEW WEB PAGE

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released a
Report on the Minor Uses of Pesticides, mandated by the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) of
1996.

The report describes actions taken by EPA to increase
communication with minor use stakeholders and to expedite
registrations for minor use pesticides.  For example, EPA has
designated a minor crop advisor and a public health coordinator
to increase responsiveness to minor use concerns.  The report
also describes the coordinated approach between EPA, the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the
Department of Health  and Human Services (DHHS) for dealing
with minor use issues during FQPA implementation.

EPA in partnership with USDA's Interregional Research Project 4
(IR-4) has aggressively sought to increase pesticide registrations for
minor uses, registering 814 new uses in 1999 and 901 in 2000.  Over
80% of the new use registrations have been for reduced-risk pesticides.
Minor use priorities for reregistration and tolerance reassessment have
been guided by recommendations from the EPA/USDA Tolerance
Reassessment Advisory Committee (TRAC) and the Committee to
Advise on Reassessment and Transition (CARAT), both established
to provide EPA and USDA advice on strategic approaches for pest
management planning and tolerance reassessment while implementing
FQPA.

EPA has also created a new minor use web page,
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/minoruse/ which provides links to the
report and related information on the Agency's minor use activities
and partnerships with other agencies.  Copies of the Report on Minor
Use Pesticides may be obtained on the new minor use web site or by
calling 1-800-490-9198.

Minor uses of pesticides are those for which the total United States
production for a crop is fewer than 300,000 acres, or those uses
which do not provide sufficient economic incentive for a registrant to
support initial or continuing pesticide registrations.  Minor uses of
pesticides occur on fruits and vegetables and for control of disease
vectors, such as mosquitos, ticks, cockroaches, rodents and
disease-causing organisms.

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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.

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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 their website 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