Pesticide Program Highlights from Fiscal Year 1998

Note: This information is provided for reference purposes only. Although the information provided here was accurate and current when first created, it is now outdated.

November 1998
EPA 735-F-98-011

As EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs begins its third full year after the passage of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA), OPP has continued to be productive and protective in carrying out its regulatory functions. FY 1998 accomplishments include the registration of new active ingredients and new uses at a rate that exceeded not only our expectations but also our historic performance rates. The increasing numbers of new registrations, begun in 1994, also reflect higher numbers of "safer" or reduced risk products being brought to market. In this fact sheet, we present a brief summary of some of the highlights of our effort to protect public health and the environment.

Twenty-Seven New Pesticides Registered:

In FY 1998, EPA registered 27 new pesticides, including 13 conventional pesticides, 12 biopesticides, and 2 antimicrobial pesticides. These new pesticides can be used in homes, businesses, farms, schools, hospitals, and parks in the United States, thereby increasing pest control flexibility and reducing the incidence of pest resistance to existing products. Many of these products are also safer substitutes for the more traditional, toxic pesticides. OPP also registered over 100 new food uses for previously registered pesticides. In evaluating a pesticide registration application, EPA assesses a wide variety of potential human health and environmental effects. Testing is required to determine whether a pesticide has the potential to cause harmful effects on humans, wildlife, fish, and plants, including endangered species.

Fourteen New Safer Pesticides Registered:

Of the 27 new pesticides registered in FY 1998, 14 are considered to be reduced risk, or "safer" pesticides. Reduced-risk pesticides have:

low risk to human health;
low toxicity to non-target organisms;
low ground water contamination potential;
low use rates;
low pest resistance potential;
compatibility with integrated pest management; or
are biopesticides.

Emergency Exemptions:

Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizes EPA to allow States to permit use of a pesticide for an unregistered use for a limited time if EPA determines that emergency conditions exist. Typical justifications for exemptions include the response to a new pest; the expansion of the range of a pest; the cancellation or removal from the market of a previously registered and effective pesticide product; or the loss of efficacy in available products for any other reason. In FY 1998, OPP received 601 requests for emergency exemptions, of which 410 were authorized, 27 were denied, and 67 were withdrawn by states (97 requests are still pending). The average turnaround time for Section 18 requests was 56 days.

Product Re-registration:

In FY 1998, OPP re-registered 169 products, granted 424 cancellations, amended 54 registrations, and suspended 127 products. Examples of risk reduction achieved through re-registration of particular pesticides include: voluntary cancellation of certain formulations due to unacceptable worker risks, the classification of a pesticide as a restricted use pesticide to address groundwater concerns, and the creation of buffers to protect marine and estuarine habitats.

Re-registration Eligibility Decisions:

Under FIFRA, EPA must review the human health and environmental effects of all pesticide active ingredients initially registered before November 1, 1984, to determine whether they meet today's more stringent standards. Those active ingredients that meet the standards are declared "eligible" for re-registration, as explained in a Re-registration Eligibility Decision (RED) document. In FY 1998, OPP completed 13 RED's, bringing the total REDs completed to 184. The remaining REDs will be completed by 2002.

Tolerance Setting and Re-evaluation:

A tolerance is the maximum legal amount of pesticide residue permissible on food. In FY 1998, OPP set 258 tolerances and/or tolerance exemptions. Of these, 240 were for conventional pesticides, 16 were for biopesticides, and 2 were for antimicrobial pesticides. In addition, FQPA requires that EPA reassess within 10 years over 9,700 tolerances to ensure that the tolerances meet the new "reasonable certainty of no harm" safety standard in the law. In developing the reassessment schedule, EPA is placing a priority on pesticides that appear to pose the greatest potential risk to the public (these include organophosphates, carbamates, probable and possible human carcinogens, organochlorine pesticides, and high-hazard inert ingredients). In FY 1998, over 1,400 tolerances were re-evaluated against the new safety standard, of which 874 were revoked.

FQPA Children's Safety Factor:

FQPA requires EPA to address risks to infants and children and to publish a specific safety finding before a tolerance can be established. It also provides for an additional safety factor (tenfold, unless there is a basis to reduce) to ensure that tolerances are safe for infants and children and requires collection of better data on food consumption patterns, pesticide residue levels, and pesticide use. In FY 1998, OPP's screening process evaluated the children's safety factor for 98 active ingredients.

Antimicrobials Program:

OPP made significant progress in implementing its antimicrobial pesticides program, including 1) reducing the antimicrobial pending actions backlog by over 90% from its high of 388 on December 31, 1996; 2) clarifying the roles of EPA and FDA on the regulation of antimicrobial pesticides that come in contact with food; and 3) issuing draft guidance on Treated Articles to help prevent the public from being misled that certain products (such as paint treated with a pesticide to protect the paint coating) actually protect consumers from germs and bacteria. OPP's antimicrobials program also worked with industry, public health groups, and the general public through its National Workshop and quarterly meetings with all stakeholders.

Biopesticides and Integrated Pest Management:

In FY98, OPP registered 12 new biopesticides. These biopesticides ranged from various Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) products to fish oil. In addition, OPP added 27 new partners to its Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program, which is designed to reduce the risks from pesticide usage through promoting increased use of biopesticides, integrated pest management strategies and other related techniques.

EPA Home Page

OPP enhanced its web site, and posted most of the documents related to the Tolerance Reassessment Advisory Committee. Monthly hits have tripled since January 1998.

Minor Use Program:

OPP appointed a Minor Use Team Leader/Ombudsperson whose responsibilities are to facilitate minor crop and public health minor use issues for OPP. Minor use registrations are a priority, and the Agency is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to identify critical needs, develop data, and register products for minor uses. OPP is working with stakeholders in a more open, transparent manner to address the issues of the minor use community. In FY 1998, OPP's new chemical and new food use decisions provided growers with up to 610 additional pesticide uses for minor crops. Of these, over 500 involved biopesticides or reduced-risk pesticides.

Process Improvements:

During FY 1998, OPP also made considerable investments to reinvent decision-making, including:

increasing stakeholder consultations on FQPA issues and implementation approaches, culminating in the release of 16 preliminary organophosphate risk assessments for public comment;
refining the application of the FQPA "10x" safety factor for infants and children by creating a task force which is identifying the data and methods needed for appropriate application of the safety factor;
establishing a priority ranking system for organophosphate alternatives;
working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to collect real world information on organophosphate use on commodities;
reducing backlogs in virtually every registration activity area, and nearly eliminating backlogs in fast track amendment categories;
working with stakeholders to establish an effective process to implement new regulations for adverse incident reporting;
developing new models and approaches to improve estimates of risk related to drinking water; and
validating analytical methods for registration and re-registration efforts.

For More Information:

For more information on registration of conventional pesticides, call Linda Arrington at 703-305-5446. For information about antimicrobial pesticides, call Yvette Hopkins at 703-308-6214 or visit the National Antimicrobials Information Network website. For information on biopesticides call Bob Torla at 703-308-8908. For general information about the Office of Pesticide Programs, call the Communication Services Branch at 703-305-5017, call the National Pesticides Telecommunications Network at 800-858-7378, or check the OPP web site.

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