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Pesticide
registration in the U.S.
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (U.S. EPA) is responsible for registering, or licensing,
pesticide products for use in the United States. U.S. EPA is granted
this authority under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act (FIFRA) (1), but other laws also play a role in pesticide regulation,
including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the
Federal Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA), and the Safe
Drinking Water Act (2).
FIFRA requires the U.S.
EPA to assess the potential effects of a pesticide product on human
health and the environment when used according to label directions
developed for the product. Once the U.S. EPA approves a set of label
directions for a pesticide product, any use of the pesticide which
does not follow the label directions is a violation and may be subject
to civil and/or criminal penalties. FIFRA also requires that U.S.
EPA reevaluate older pesticides to ensure that they meet more recent
safety standards. See Reregistration
Eligibility Decision.
Before a pesticide is registered
for use on a particular commodity or site, it must be approved for
that use by U.S. EPA. Tests are performed by the manufacturers to
determine whether the product or its residues on foods presents
unreasonable risks to people, wildlife, fish, and plants. U.S. EPA
reviews the data submitted by the manufacturers and either approves
or disapproves the studies. A summary of rejection rates for these
studies shows that historically 20-50% of the manufacturers' studies
submitted for evaluation of pesticides are rejected as inadequate
(4). During the delay while the studies are being re-done, the pesticide
can be sold as before, even without our knowing what the health
effects of exposure might be.
For pesticides that are
known to have potential for causing health or environmental problems,
U.S. EPA has the authority to limit the amount of pesticide applied,
restrict the frequency or location of application, or require the
use of specially trained, certified applicators.
For problematic pesticides,
U.S. EPA may also undertake an extensive Special
Review of a pesticide or work with
manufacturers and users to implement changes in a pesticides use
to reduce exposures, such as eliminating use on certain crops, reducing
application rates, restricting the methods of application, or canceling
a pesticide's uses.
Most states also have laws
governing pesticide regulation and use. California's regulatory
system is the most comprehensive, perhaps because nearly 25% of
the total amount of pesticides used in the U.S. are used in California
(5). California restrictions are frequently stricter than federal
restrictions, and there are several pesticides no longer permitted
for use in California that are still legal for use in other states.
References:
- Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. 136. FIFRA full text. Viewed on October 31, 2002.
- Laws Affecting EPA's Pesticide
Programs, U.S. EPA. Viewed on October 31,
2002.
- Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) Title 40 - Pesticide Programs, Subchapter E - Pesticide
Programs, U.S.
EPA. Viewed on October 31, 2002.
- Pesticide Reregistration
Rejection Rate Analysis: Summary Report, February 1995, Order No. EPA738S95001,
U.S. EPA. Viewed on October 31,
2002.
- A. L. Aspelin
and A. H. Grube, Pesticide Industry Sales and Usage: 1996 and
1997 Market Estimates, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Document
#733-R-99-001 (November 1999). Viewed on October 31, 2002.
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of page
Last updated
November 11, 2002
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