EPA Pesticide Program Updates from EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs 09/07/01

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides http://www.epa.gov/pesticides

*********************************************

IN THIS UPDATE:

1) New Web Site Established for Information on Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) and Its

Use as a Wood Preservative

2) Voluntary Cancellation Requests Received for 45 Pesticide Products

3) Voluntary Cancellation of Oxadixyl Proposed

4) Vinclozolin Voluntary Cancellation Order Issued

5) Triphenyltin Hydroxide (TPTH) Special Review Ends

6) Partial Decision on Phosmet Issued for Comment; Benefits Assessments for Phosmet and Azinphos-Methyl Also Released

7) Data Used to Calculate Organophosphate Pesticide Potency Factors Available on EPA Web Site

8) Environmental Education Grant Proposals Sought by EPA

*************************************************

1) NEW WEB SITE ESTABLISHED FOR INFORMATION ON CHROMATED COPPER

ARSENATE (CCA) AND ITS USE AS A WOOD PRESERVATIVE

EPA has posted a new Web site to provide background information on chromated copper arsenate (CCA), a chemical mixture consisting of arsenic, chromium, and copper which is registered for wood preservative uses. This Web site provides a variety of EPA's consumer resource documents, recent press releases, and relevant links. Examples include:

* Commonly-asked questions about CCA's uses as a wood preservative;

* Information for consumers and builders on minimizing risk when working with CCA-treated

wood;

* Information on EPA's health and environmental safety review of CCA, including children's

exposure from playground equipment; and,

* Industry and Federal efforts to increase awareness about safer use and handling of CCA-treated wood.

EPA will continue to update this Web site to address new developments and opportunities for

public participation. Please review this new CCA Web site at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/citizens/1file.htm

*************************************************

2) VOLUNTARY CANCELLATION REQUESTS RECEIVED FOR 45 PESTICIDE PRODUCTS

EPA has received requests from registrants to cancel 45 pesticide products, including several pet flea and tick collars containing diazinon. Registrants may withdraw their request for cancellation within 180 days of its publication in the Federal Register, or in this case by February 22, 2002, except for three companies that requested a 30-day comment period for their products. This notice appeared in the Federal Register on August 22, 2001, and is available on EPA's Web site at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr.

****************************************************

3) VOLUNTARY CANCELLATION OF OXADIXYL PROPOSED

EPA has received a request from the registrants of the fungicide oxadixyl to cancel all products containing this pesticide. Oxadixyl is a systemic fungicide used to treat seeds of a variety of food crops, as well as vetch, golf course turf, and residential lawns. Both registrants cite declining sales and state that they have not produced this pesticide for several years.

EPA must receive comments on this product and use cancellation request by September 14, 2001, referring to docket control number OPP-66291. EPA expects to make the cancellation effective on the date the final cancellation order is published and will subsequently propose revocation of tolerances for oxadixyl. This notice, which was published in the Federal Register on August 15, 2001, is available on EPA's Web site at www.epa.gov/fedrgstr .

**************************************************

4) VINCLOZOLIN VOLUNTARY CANCELLATION ORDER ISSUED

On August 22, 2001, EPA issued an order canceling certain uses of the fungicide vinclozolin. This order follows up on the September 20, 2000, notice that the registrants had requested deletion of several uses to allow for the continuation and registration of other uses. The registrant requested EPA to establish a tolerance for vinclozolin on canola and succulent beans, but these uses did not meet the current safety standard if existing uses remained in place.

In addition to dietary risks, EPA identified risks to children associated with turf use of vinclozolin and risks to workers in the ornamental plant industry. Based on comments received on the September 2000 notice, EPA has modified its original proposed

cancellation order to allow continued use on forestry seedlings grown in greenhouses, due to lack

of available alternatives, and has changed the last legal sale and use dates for canceled products to alleviate potential confusion. The Federal Register notice includes a table listing these dates.

Commenters requested that use on onions be allowed to continue, but EPA determined that

alternative pest control measures are available. Existing stocks may be used until the last legal use date shown in the Federal Register notice. EPA plans to revoke tolerances for these canceled uses after the last use dates. The Federal Register notice is available on EPA's Web site:

www.epa.gov/fedrgstr .

************************************************

5) TRIPHENYLTIN HYDROXIDE (TPTH) SPECIAL REVIEW ENDS

On June 20, 2001, EPA published a notice in the Federal Register terminating the Special Review of the pesticide active ingredient triphenyltin hydroxide (TPTH), based on a determination that the benefits of the continued existing uses outweigh the risks. The organotin fungicide TPTH is used on potatoes, sugar beets, and pecans and is important to resistance management and integrated pest management programs for these three crops. EPA determined that TPTH's role as a resistance management tool for pecans, potatoes, and sugar beets warrants continued availability of the fungicide for these uses, and that TPTH has benefits that outweigh its risks.

The Agency received no comments in response to a proposal to terminate the TPTH Special Review, which appeared in the Federal Register on October 20, 2000 (65 FR 63173). Concerns about developmental risks to workers that prompted EPA to initiate the Special Review in 1985 were addressed by additional data and risk-mitigation measures.

TPTH poses potential developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, and carcinogenicity risks to

pesticide handlers (mixers, loaders, and applicators) and post-application field workers. It also poses potential risks to nontarget species and drinking water resources. TPTH has been classified as a Restricted Use Pesticide since 1984. Risk mitigation measures adopted through Special Review negotiations included deletion of several crop uses, use of engineering controls, and use of personal protective equipment. These measures, however, did not sufficiently reduce cancer risks to TPTH handlers and field workers. In developing the RED, EPA asked registrants of TPTH to submit additional developmental toxicity and occupational exposure monitoring studies. EPA required additional mitigation measures in the TPTH RED to further reduce worker and ecological risks. These actions are summarized in the TPTH Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) document, signed in September 1999. EPA assessed the new data and additional measures to reduce risks and concluded in the 1999 RED that all registered uses of TPTH were eligible for reregistration.

************************************************

6) PARTIAL DECISION ON PHOSMET ISSUED FOR COMMENT; BENEFITS ASSESSMENTS FOR PHOSMET AND AZINPHOS-METHYL ALSO RELEASED

EPA has completed a partial decision regarding the interim reregistration eligibility of phosmet, an organophosphate (OP) pesticide used widely in agriculture and forestry, on ornamentals, and for direct animal treatments in the U.S. The Agency is proposing risk management decisions for 17 of 45 registered uses in a Partial Interim Reregistration Eligibility Decision (PIRED) for Phosmet, signed on August 31, 2001. EPA plans to publish a notice in the Federal Register and accept comments for 60 days after the notice is published. The partial decision document demonstrates how progress is being made toward completing the interim reregistration decision for this pesticide. Provisions of the PIRED will be implemented after EPA completes its interim reregistration decision for phosmet later this fall. The Phosmet PIRED is available on EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/phosmet.htm and the FR notice is available at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr.

EPA will make decisions for the remaining 28 uses of phosmet upon completion of its review of azinphos-methyl, another OP pesticide with similar uses. Since in many situations growers could choose either phosmet or azinphos-methyl for overlapping uses, EPA is evaluating the risks and benefits of the two OP pesticides concurrently. This is particularly important because some newly submitted data, currently under review, could change the risk assessment for azinphos-methyl, influencing EPA's risk management decisions for both azinphos-methyl and phosmet.

EPA also is releasing 24 initial benefits assessments for phosmet and azinphos-methyl, including many for crop uses that these pesticides have in common. EPA invites public comment on the benefits assessments, which will play an important part in the decision-making for phosmet and azinphos-methyl. Comments on the benefits assessments should be provided to EPA as soon as possible to ensure their incorporation in the Agency's forthcoming decisions. On EPA's Web site, see the benefits assessments for phosmet at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/phosmet.htm and those for azinphos-methyl at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/azm.htm .

EPA expects to make risk management/reregistration eligibility decisions for phosmet, azinphos-methyl, and several other individual OP pesticides this fall. The risk assessments and use and benefits information underpinning these decisions have been developed with extensive stakeholder input obtained through the OP pilot public participation process. For further information, please see EPA's Web site, http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/. Final tolerance reassessment decisions for the OP pesticides will be completed once the cumulative risks of all the OPs have been considered. For additional information on the OP cumulative assessment, see http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/cumulative/.

*************************************************

7) DATA USED TO CALCULATE ORGANOPHOSPHATE PESTICIDE POTENCY

FACTORS AVAILABLE ON EPA WEB SITE

EPA has posted on its Web site a spreadsheet containing data that the Agency has used in the analysis described in the paper "Preliminary Cumulative Hazard and Dose-Response Assessment for Organophosphorus Pesticides: Determination of Relative Potency and Points of Departure for Cholinesterase Inhibition." EPA used red blood cell data from male rats to derive relative potency factors for the organophosphate pesticides for use in its assessment of cumulative risk.

Calculating relative potencies gives a means of comparing the toxicity of the pesticides so their exposures can be combined in the cumulative risk assessment (similar to converting a variety of foreign currencies to U.S. dollars so the money can be spent here). The data can be used by the public with the OP Cumulative Risk Program to duplicate the relative potency factor analysis. The program was developed by EPA's Office of Research and Development National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory to facilitate data analysis for the OP dose-response assessment.

The data file is a 248kb spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel format. A PDF version of the data (95kb) also is posted on the Web site. (See http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/cumulative/EPA_approach_methods.htm for both versions of the data as well as the OP Cumulative Risk program.)

***************************************************

8) ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION GRANT PROPOSALS SOUGHT BY EPA

OPP would like to inform groups or individuals engaged in pesticide-related educational projects that the Agency's Office of Environmental Education is seeking grant proposals "from education institutions, environmental and educational public agencies, and not-for-profit organizations."

EPA defines Environmental Education as education that " ... increases public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues and provides the skills to make informed decisions and take responsible actions. It does not advocate a particular viewpoint or course of action. It teaches individuals how to weigh various sides of an issue through critical thinking and it enhances their own problem-solving skills ..."

Projects that provide facts or opinions about environmental issues or problems--but that do not enhance critical thinking, problem solving, or decisionmaking skills--are not eligible for funding, because such projects are not considered by the Agency to be environmental education. Nonfederal matching funds of at least 25 percent of the total cost of the project are required. EPA anticipates funding of approximately $3 million for this annual grant cycle. Applicants should note that the Agency receives many more applications for these grants than can be supported with available funds and that the competition for grants is intense.

Further details, including contact information, are provided in the August 28 Federal Register notice of solicitation of grant proposals, or visit the EPA OEE Web sites at http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.html and http://www.epa.gov/enviroed.

**********************************************************************

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/