Pesticides; Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Disposal Instructions on Residential/Household Use Pesticide Product Labels

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
 [Federal Register: June 14, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 115)]
[Notices]
[Page 37383-37385]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14jn00-65]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-00654; FRL-6553-4]


Pesticides; Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Disposal
Instructions on Residential/Household Use Pesticide Product Labels

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Agency seeks public comment on a draft Pesticide
Registration (PR) Notice entitled ``Disposal Instructions on
Residential/Household Use Product Labels.'' This draft notice would
provide guidance to registrants concerning disposal instructions for
residential/household products and how to determine what is a
residential/household product. The Agency has discovered that the
existing instructions may conflict with the laws, regulations, or
practices of some states and localities which tell consumers to direct
these materials away from their landfills and instead to their local
household hazardous waste (HHW) management facilities or programs.
Through the revised instructions in the PR Notice, EPA addresses this
issue.

DATES: Comments, identified by docket control number OPP-00654, must be
received on or before August 14, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by mail, electronically, or in
person. Please follow the detailed instructions for each method as
provided in Unit I.C. of the ``SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.'' To ensure
proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket
control number OPP-00654 in the subject line on the first page of your
response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Breedlove (7506C), Environmental
Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Bldg., 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (703) 308-9069; fax number:
(703) 305-5884; e-mail address: breedlove.amy@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. Although this
action may be of particular interest to those persons who are required
to register, regulate, or label pesticides, or who manage or regulate
household hazardous waste facilities or collection events, the Agency
has not attempted to describe all the specific entities that may be
affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding the
information in this notice, consult the person listed under ``FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.''

B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this
Document and Other Related Documents?

    1. Electronically. You may obtain electronic copies of this
document and the PR Notice from the Office of Pesticide Programs' Home
Page at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides. You can also go directly to the
listings from the EPA Internet Home Page at http://www.epa.gov. To
access this document, on the Home Page select ``Laws and Regulations''
and then look up the entry for this document under the ``Federal
Register--Environmental Documents.'' You can also go directly to the
Federal Register listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr.
    2. Fax-on-demand. You may request a faxed copy of the draft PR
Notice entitled ``Disposal Instructions on Residential/Household Use
Pesticide Product Labels,'' by using a faxphone to call (202) 401-0527
and selecting item 6127. You may also follow the automated menu.
    3. In person. The Agency has established an official record for
this action under docket control number OPP-00654. The official record
consists of the documents specifically referenced in this action, any
public comments received during an applicable comment period, and other
information related to this action, including any information claimed
as confidential business information (CBI). This official record
includes the documents that are physically located in the docket, as
well as the documents that are referenced in those documents. The
public version of the official record does not include any information
claimed as CBI. The public version of the official record, which
includes printed, paper versions of any electronic comments submitted
during an applicable comment period, is available for inspection in the
Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119,
Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA, from 8:30
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305-5805.

C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?

    You may submit comments through the mail, in person, or
electronically. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, it is imperative that
you identify docket control number OPP-00654 in the subject line on the
first page of your response.
    1. By mail. Submit your comments to: Public Information and Records
Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources and Services Division
(7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection
Agency, Ariel Rios Bldg., 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC
20460.

[[Page 37384]]

    2. In person or by courier. Deliver your comments to: Public
Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources
and Services Division (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP),
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. The PIRIB is open from 8:30
a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
    3. Electronically. You may submit your comments electronically by
e-mail to: opp-docket@epa.gov, or you can submit a computer disk as
described above. Do not submit any information electronically that you
consider to be CBI. Avoid the use of special characters and any form of
encryption. Electronic submissions will be accepted in Wordperfect 6,
Suite 8, or ASCII file format. All comments in electronic form must be
identified by docket control number OPP-00654. Electronic comments may
also be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.

D. How Should I Handle CBI That I Want to Submit to the Agency?

    Do not submit any information electronically that you consider to
be CBI. You may claim information that you submit to EPA in response to
this document as CBI by marking any part or all of that information as
CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance
with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. In addition to one complete
version of the comment that includes any information claimed as CBI, a
copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as
CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public version of the
official record. Information not marked confidential will be included
in the public version of the official record without prior notice. If
you have any questions about CBI or the procedures for claiming CBI,
please consult the person identified under ``FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT.''

E. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?

    You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your
comments:
    1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
    2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
    3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used
that support your views.
    4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you
arrived at the estimate that you provide.
    5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
    6. Offer alternative ways to improve the notice or collection
activity.
    7. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline in this
notice.
    8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket
control number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first
page of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal
Register citation.

II. Background

A. What Guidance Does this PR Notice Provide?

    Since the early 1980's, the Agency has directed that products
intended for residential or household-use-only contain the following,
or a similar, disposal instruction: ``Securely wrap original container
in several layers of newspaper and discard in trash.'' Some registered
disinfectant product disposal instructions were allowed to say instead,
``pour down the drain with plenty of water.''
    In 1996, EPA began the Consumer Labeling Initiative (CLI) to foster
pollution prevention, empower consumer choice, and improve consumer
understanding of safe use, environmental, and health information on
household consumer product labels, including indoor insecticides,
outdoor pesticides, and household hard surface cleaners. To achieve
this goal, the CLI conducted consumer research, with its project
Partners, to identify how to provide consumers with clear information
on product labels.
    During Phase I of the CLI research, the Agency discovered that
states and localities often direct the disposal of residential/
household use pesticides to their local household hazardous waste (HHW)
management facilities or programs rather than to landfills. While some
HHW management programs are based on State laws, more frequently
municipal codes, local practices and educational programs have been
developed that tell consumers what to do with these materials.
Understandably, the differences in disposal instructions may confuse
consumers, complicate local educational efforts, and interfere with
state and local responsibilities. Consensus could not be reached by the
CLI partners on revised disposal language, so this issue was removed
from the CLI project and is being addressed through this PR Notice
process instead.
    In this PR Notice, the Agency is proposing instructions that direct
consumers to call their local solid waste agency or a toll-free phone
number for disposal instructions for partly filled containers.

B. What Questions/Issues Should You Consider?

    1. Toll-free numbers. (a) When considering issues related to label
language, it may be relevant to remember the average size of consumer
product labels and the other labeling requirements that already exist.
Is there value in including a toll-free number (or an optional web site
reference) in the disposal instruction?
    (b) The Agency has proposed the 1-800-CLEANUP number for consumer
information. Is this an appropriate number? Are there others that
should be considered or allowed?
    2. Providing a reason for correct disposal. Should the label
provide information telling consumers why they should follow the
instructions? For example, the Agency could encourage the use of
statements concerning the potential for water pollution or hazards to
people or wildlife.
    3. Additional statements. Is a statement needed telling people not
to dispose of aerosol products in home trash compacters?
    4. Instructions for partly filled containers. (a) EPA has proposed
to use ``solid waste agency''as the preferred term for consumers to
identify their local authority. Should the Agency also refer to public
health, environmental, or recycling agencies in order to provide
consumers with other options?
    (b) Should the instructions say ``call your local solid waste
agency . . .'' and not make any reference to putting products in the
trash at all? What instructions should be included to address the
situation where there may be no local source of information?
    (c) The Agency proposes instructions that are generic for all
products, regardless of risk profile. If such instructions were,
instead, based on an Agency evaluation of risk of individual products,
how would such instructions differ among products of significantly
different risk? If a risk assessment approach were used, what data or
information would the Agency need, and what level of risk assessment
should be used to arrive at a risk-based disposal instruction?
    (d) Should products with certain physical characteristics, such as
ant or roach baits, flea collars, or traps containing pheromones, be
excluded

[[Page 37385]]

automatically from the requirement to ``call your local solid waste
agency''? If so, what types of products should be excluded?
    5. Rinsing and recycling of containers. (a) Many ready-to-use
products are in containers that can't be opened, so rinsing the
container or removing the sprayer head is not feasible. Furthermore,
recycling of pesticide containers, where it occurs, is very much a
market-driven activity. For these reasons, should the Agency simply
direct consumers to call their local authorities for recycling
instructions?
    (b) Is the phrase ``Do not rinse, unless required for recycling''
useful?

C. Why is a PR Notice Guidance and Not a Rule?

    The draft PR Notice discussed in this notice is intended to provide
guidance to EPA personnel and decision-makers, and to the public. As a
guidance document and not a rule, this policy is not binding on either
EPA or any outside parties. Although the guidance document provides a
starting point for EPA decisions, EPA will depart from this policy
where the facts or circumstances warrant. In such cases, EPA will
explain why a different course was taken. Similarly, outside parties
remain free to assert that this policy is not appropriate for a
specific pesticide or that the specific circumstances demonstrate that
this policy should be modified.
    EPA has stated in this notice that it will make available revised
guidance after consideration of public comment. Public comment is not
being solicited for the purpose of converting this guidance document
into a binding rule. EPA will not be codifying this policy in the Code
of Federal Regulations. EPA is soliciting public comment so that it can
make fully informed decisions regarding the content of this guidance.
    The ``revised'' guidance will not be an unalterable document. Once
a ``revised'' guidance document is issued, EPA will continue to treat
it as guidance, not a rule. Accordingly, on a case-by-case basis EPA
will decide whether it is appropriate to depart from the guidance or to
modify the overall approach in the guidance. In the course of
commenting on this guidance document, EPA would welcome comments that
specifically address how the guidance document can be structured so
that it provides meaningful guidance without imposing binding
requirements.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Pesticides and pest.

    Dated: June 2, 2000.
Marcia E. Mulkey,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 00-14870 Filed 6-13-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
Pesticides; Guidance for Pesticide Registrants on Disposal Instructions on Residential/Household Use Pesticide Product Labels

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