Pesticide Program Update
Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:01 am
EPA Pesticide Progam Updates
From EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs
www.epa.gov/pesticides
April 9, 2012
In This Update:
1. EPA Denies Petition on 2,4-D Pesticide
2. Registration Review Updated Schedule is Available
EPA Denies Petition on 2,4-D Pesticide
In a petition filed on November 6, 2008, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) requested that EPA cancel all product registrations and revoke all tolerances (legal residue limits in food) for the pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, or 2,4-D. After considering public comment received on the petition and all the available studies, EPA is denying the request to revoke all tolerances and the request to cancel all registrations.
By way of background, in 2005, as part of the regulatory process to ensure pesticides meet current regulatory standards, EPA completed a review on the registration and on the safety of the tolerances for 2,4-D. EPA determined that all products containing 2,4-D are eligible for reregistration, provided certain changes were incorporated into the labels and additional data were generated and submitted to the EPA for review.
During the recent review of the petition from NRDC to revoke the tolerances, EPA evaluated all the data cited by NRDC and new studies submitted to EPA in response to the reregistration decision. Included in the new studies is a state-of-the-science extended one-generation reproduction study. That study provides an in-depth examination of 2,4-D’s potential for endocrine disruptor, neurotoxic, and immunotoxic effects. This study and EPA’s comprehensive review confirmed EPA’s previous finding that the 2,4-D tolerances are safe.
EPA also carefully reviewed NRDC’s request that the Agency cancel all 2,4-D product registrations. Based on studies addressing endocrine effects on wildlife species and the adequacy of personal protective equipment for workers, the Agency concluded that the science behind our current ecological and worker risk assessments for 2,4-D is sound and there is no basis to change the registrations.
2,4-D is a phenoxy herbicide and plant growth regulator that has been used in the U.S. since the 1940s. It is currently found in approximately 600 products registered for agricultural, residential, industrial, and aquatic uses. There are 85 tolerances for 2,4-D. EPA published the NRDC petition for public comment on December 24, 2008.
Below are EPA documents responding to NRDC’s petition on 2,4-D including a pre-publication copy of the agency’s Federal Register Order. These documents are also available on EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/pesticides. When the Federal Register document is published in mid-April, it will be available with the related documents in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0877 at www.regulations.gov. A 60-day period for filing objections and requests for a hearing on the Order runs from the date of publication in the Federal Register.
Related Documents:
• April 7, 2012, Pre Publication Copy Notice: 2,4-D; Order Denying NRDC's Petition to Revoke Tolerances (PDF) - (99 pp, 416K, PDF)
• April 7, 2012, Letter to NRDC: EPA Denial of November 6, 2008 NRDC Petition to Cancel All 2,4-D Registrations (PDF) - (10 pp, 81K, PDF)
• April 7, 2012, Memorandum to Public Docket: EPA Response to Issues Raised in Public Comments, but Unrelated to Issues in NRDC 2,4-D Petition (PDF) - (4 pp, 94K, PDF)
Registration Review Updated Schedule is Available
EPA has issued an updated schedule for the pesticide registration review program. As mandated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, EPA is reviewing each registered pesticide every 15 years to determine whether it still meets the FIFRA standard for registration.. The updated schedule provides the timetable for opening dockets for the next several years of the registration review program, from fiscal year (FY) 2012 through 2015, and includes information on dockets that opened in FY 2007 through FY 2011. The schedule reflects the Agency’s plan to continue to open about 70 new dockets each year through 2017. Following this schedule, EPA will complete the first 15-year cycle of registration review by October 1, 2022, for all pesticides registered as of October 1, 2007.
EPA is announcing the updated schedule as provided in Sections 155.42(e) and 155.44 of the Procedural Regulations for Registration Review: Final Rule (document number EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0404-0052 at www.regulations.gov). The Agency may consider issues raised by the public or a registrant when reviewing a posted schedule, to schedule a pesticide registration review, or to modify the schedule of a pesticide registration review as appropriate. This schedule will be updated at least once every year.
The Schedule for Beginning Reviews and an explanation of the schedule are available at:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registratio ... hedule.htm .
Information about the status of individual pesticides in registration review is available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chemicalsearch/ and in the dockets for these pesticides.
Information about the registration review program is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registratio ... /index.htm .
From EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs
www.epa.gov/pesticides
April 9, 2012
In This Update:
1. EPA Denies Petition on 2,4-D Pesticide
2. Registration Review Updated Schedule is Available
EPA Denies Petition on 2,4-D Pesticide
In a petition filed on November 6, 2008, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) requested that EPA cancel all product registrations and revoke all tolerances (legal residue limits in food) for the pesticide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, or 2,4-D. After considering public comment received on the petition and all the available studies, EPA is denying the request to revoke all tolerances and the request to cancel all registrations.
By way of background, in 2005, as part of the regulatory process to ensure pesticides meet current regulatory standards, EPA completed a review on the registration and on the safety of the tolerances for 2,4-D. EPA determined that all products containing 2,4-D are eligible for reregistration, provided certain changes were incorporated into the labels and additional data were generated and submitted to the EPA for review.
During the recent review of the petition from NRDC to revoke the tolerances, EPA evaluated all the data cited by NRDC and new studies submitted to EPA in response to the reregistration decision. Included in the new studies is a state-of-the-science extended one-generation reproduction study. That study provides an in-depth examination of 2,4-D’s potential for endocrine disruptor, neurotoxic, and immunotoxic effects. This study and EPA’s comprehensive review confirmed EPA’s previous finding that the 2,4-D tolerances are safe.
EPA also carefully reviewed NRDC’s request that the Agency cancel all 2,4-D product registrations. Based on studies addressing endocrine effects on wildlife species and the adequacy of personal protective equipment for workers, the Agency concluded that the science behind our current ecological and worker risk assessments for 2,4-D is sound and there is no basis to change the registrations.
2,4-D is a phenoxy herbicide and plant growth regulator that has been used in the U.S. since the 1940s. It is currently found in approximately 600 products registered for agricultural, residential, industrial, and aquatic uses. There are 85 tolerances for 2,4-D. EPA published the NRDC petition for public comment on December 24, 2008.
Below are EPA documents responding to NRDC’s petition on 2,4-D including a pre-publication copy of the agency’s Federal Register Order. These documents are also available on EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/pesticides. When the Federal Register document is published in mid-April, it will be available with the related documents in docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0877 at www.regulations.gov. A 60-day period for filing objections and requests for a hearing on the Order runs from the date of publication in the Federal Register.
Related Documents:
• April 7, 2012, Pre Publication Copy Notice: 2,4-D; Order Denying NRDC's Petition to Revoke Tolerances (PDF) - (99 pp, 416K, PDF)
• April 7, 2012, Letter to NRDC: EPA Denial of November 6, 2008 NRDC Petition to Cancel All 2,4-D Registrations (PDF) - (10 pp, 81K, PDF)
• April 7, 2012, Memorandum to Public Docket: EPA Response to Issues Raised in Public Comments, but Unrelated to Issues in NRDC 2,4-D Petition (PDF) - (4 pp, 94K, PDF)
Registration Review Updated Schedule is Available
EPA has issued an updated schedule for the pesticide registration review program. As mandated by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, EPA is reviewing each registered pesticide every 15 years to determine whether it still meets the FIFRA standard for registration.. The updated schedule provides the timetable for opening dockets for the next several years of the registration review program, from fiscal year (FY) 2012 through 2015, and includes information on dockets that opened in FY 2007 through FY 2011. The schedule reflects the Agency’s plan to continue to open about 70 new dockets each year through 2017. Following this schedule, EPA will complete the first 15-year cycle of registration review by October 1, 2022, for all pesticides registered as of October 1, 2007.
EPA is announcing the updated schedule as provided in Sections 155.42(e) and 155.44 of the Procedural Regulations for Registration Review: Final Rule (document number EPA-HQ-OPP-2004-0404-0052 at www.regulations.gov). The Agency may consider issues raised by the public or a registrant when reviewing a posted schedule, to schedule a pesticide registration review, or to modify the schedule of a pesticide registration review as appropriate. This schedule will be updated at least once every year.
The Schedule for Beginning Reviews and an explanation of the schedule are available at:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registratio ... hedule.htm .
Information about the status of individual pesticides in registration review is available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chemicalsearch/ and in the dockets for these pesticides.
Information about the registration review program is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registratio ... /index.htm .