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Pesticide News Story: Public Comment Sought on Draft Action Plan for Lindane
For Release: October 6, 2005
The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has released for public comment a draft action plan to reduce or eliminate the use of lindane in North America. The public comment period opens October 3, 2005 and closes November 2, 2005. The draft action plan addresses exposure risks through a variety of regulatory and risk management actions, outreach and education efforts, science and research, capacity building, and collaborative cross-border activities.
Lindane is a toxic chemical used as an agricultural and veterinary insecticide and also used as a pharmaceutical for treatment for lice and scabies in humans. It is a wide-ranging, persistent organic pollutant that accumulates in the environment, animals and fish, before being passed on to humans where it concentrates in milk and body fat. Lindane has been widely used for decades, and it has long been associated with skin irritation and nausea but can even cause convulsions and death if ingested at high levels.
EPA chairs the North American Task Force on Lindane and works collaboratively with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Mexican and Canadian government agencies, and environmental, business, and tribal stakeholders in the United States, Canada, and Mexico to develop the draft North American Regional Action Plan (NARAP) on Lindane and other Hexachlorocyclohexane Isomers.
In the draft NARAP, Canada agrees to assess and manage the risks from its sole remaining use of lindane as a pharmaceutical drug. Mexico agrees to eliminate all agricultural, veterinary, and pharmaceutical uses of lindane through a prioritized, phase-out approach. For the United States, EPA is reviewing the six remaining agricultural seed treatment uses to ensure they meet today's stringent safety standards. EPA will complete its re-evaluation by August 2006. FDA will work with pharmaceutical companies to develop alternatives for lice and scabies use. The three countries are also supporting a CEC-led, public workshop on alternatives to lindane October 4-6 in Mexico City, where representatives will discuss the potential impacts and suitability of various alternatives to lindane.
The full text of the document is available at:
http://www.cec.org/home/index.cfm?varlan=english&CFID=7676940&CFTOKEN=55224140. 
More information on international issues pertaining to
pesticides is available on EPA's Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/international/.