Federal Pesticide Laws and Regulations

1. Federal Pesticide Lawsand Regulations Stephen J. Toth, Jr. Wayne G. Buhler Department of Entomology Department of Horticultural Science North Carolina State University North Carolina State University Photograph by Ken Hammond

2. Federal Pesticide Laws and Regulations Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA): regulates the sale and use of pesticides NCSU Communication Services Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA): controls pesticide residues in food Steve Toth

3. Federal Insecticide Act of 1910 • To ensure the quality of pesticide chemicals purchased by consumers • Set standards for manufacture of Paris green, lead arsenate, insecticides and fungicides • Provided for inspections, seizure of products and prosecution USDA National Agricultural Library

4. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1947 • Extended coverage to include herbicides and rodenticides • Required pesticide products to be registered with the U. S. Department of Agriculture • Established labeling standards for pesticides USDA

5. FIFRA Amendments1959 and 1964 • Added nematicides, plant regulators, defoliants and desiccants to the definition of “pesticide” or “economic poison” • Established federal registration numbers and signal words on labels • Secretary of Agriculture can suspend hazardous pesticide registrations Tim McCabe

6. The Federal EnvironmentalPesticide Control Act of 1972 • Pesticides must be registered with the newly-created Environmental Protection Agency • Pesticides classified by EPA for “general” or “restricted” use • New pesticide registration standard to protect public health and environment Ken Hammond

7. FIFRA Amendments1975, 1978, 1980 and 1981 • Improvements in the registration process • Considerations of agricultural benefits of pesticides in regulatory decisions • Conditional registrations of pesticides allowed to reduce the registration backlog USDA Agricultural Research Service

8. Pesticide Reregistra tion • Initiated by EPA in 1975 to bring the older pesticide chemicals up to current registration standards • “Special Review” to further review those pesticides that posed a risk or concern • FIFRA amended in 1988 to impose a 9-year schedule for the completion of reregistration and establish substantial registration fee

9. The Worker Protection Standard forAgricultural Pesticides (revised 1992) • Product labels modified to restrict entry of workers in pesticide-treated fields, specify protective clothing, and notify workers of fields treated with pesticides • Employers must provide safety training, sites for decontamination, and emergency treatment Ken Hammond

10. Federal Food and Drug Act of 1906(Pure Food Law) • Fresh, canned or frozen food shipped in interstate commerce must be pure and wholesome • Enforcement of law was the responsibility of the Secretary of Agriculture • Pesticide residues not considered Dave Warren

11. Federal Food, Drug andCosmetic Act of 1938 • Authorized the Food and Drug Administration to set tolerances for chemicals in food • Tolerances established for lead arsenate and Paris green on food • Coloring required for certain pesticides to prevent their use as flour USDA Agricultural Research Service

12. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act1954 Miller Amendment • Tolerances required for all pesticides • Raw agricultural commodities condemned if they contained pesticide residues above FDA tolerance levels Fred S. White

13. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act1958 Food Additives Amendment • Covers food additives (i.e., chemicals remaining on food after processing) • Included the “Delaney Clause” which established a zero tolerance for food additives found to cause cancer Tim McCabe

14. Delaney Clause Dilemma • EPA had “negligible risk” approach to pesticide residues in raw food (cancer risk of one-in-one-million) • Zero tolerance required for potential cancer-causing chemicals in processed food • Current technology allows for detection of extremely small residue levels • Different standards for raw and processed food created regulatory problem for EPA

15. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic ActEnforcement Responsibility • EPA establishes tolerances for pesticide residues on raw and processed food • FDA enforces tolerances on most domestic and imported food • USDA enforces tolerances on meat, poultry and eggs NCSU Communication Services USDA Agricultural Research Service

16. Food Quality Protection Actof 1996 • Passed unanimously by Congress in July 1996 with broad support from industry, agricultural groups, environmental and health organizations; signed into law in August 1996 • Amended FIFRA and FFDCA Dave Warren

17. Food Quality Protection Act Intended to: • Resolve the Delaney Paradox (zero tolerance for suspected carcinogens in processed food) • Protect children from pesticides in food (1993 National Academy of Science report) • Address the issue of endocrine disruption (1996 book “Our Stolen Future”) Scott Bauer

18. Food Quality Protection Actof 1996 • Established a new, uniform standard for setting pesticide residue tolerances in both raw and processed food (i.e., a “reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate exposure”) • Repels the “Delaney Clause” Doug Wilson

19. Food Quality Protection Actof 1996 • Allows EPA to add 10x safety factor when setting pesticide residue tolerances to protect infants, children and other sensitive population subgroups Ken Hammond

20. Food Quality Protection Actof 1996 • When setting tolerances, EPA must consider the aggregate exposure (food and non-food uses) of all pesticides having common mechanism of toxicity (e.g., organophosphates) • EPA must review all tolerances (about 9,700) within 10 years Charles B. Ford NCSU Communication Services

21. Potential Impacts of theFood Quality Protection Act • Elimination or loss of registrations for certain classes of pesticides, for example: Organophosphate and carbamate pesticides due to human toxicity EBDC fungicides due to possible carcinogenic effects on humans Tim McCabe

22. Potential Impacts of theFood Quality Protection Act • Elimination or loss of registrations for certain classes of pesticides (continued): Organophosphates: Disyston Dursban/Lorsban Guthion Malathion Methyl parathion Monitor Orthene Carbamates: Benlate Furadan Lannate Sevin Vydate B2 Carcinogens: Bravo Captan Dithane Maneb Vapam

23. Potential Impacts of theFood Quality Protection Act • Registrations for minor crop and specialty uses of pesticides dropped by registrants to lower risk (i.e., protect registrations with greater economic return) Scott Bauer Fred S. White NCSU Communication Services

24. Potential Impacts of theFood Quality Protection Act • Section 18 registrations (emergency exemptions) will be needed more often due to lost registrations; however, will be harder to obtain Time-limited tolerance for the pesticide on the crop is now required before an emergency exemption is granted USDA Agricultural Research Service

25. Progress in the Implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act • EPA Tolerance Reassessment (FQPA Time Frames) • 33% by August 3, 1999 • 66% by August 3, 2002 • 100% by August 3, 2006 • EPA met the first tolerance reassessment deadline by completing 3,290 tolerance reassessment decisions -- over 33% -- by August 3, 1999

26. Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) • The Act mandates that employers (including farmers) protect their employees from hazards in the workplace • Includes workers in pesticide manufacturing plants, pesticide applicators and farm workers • Requires written hazard communication plans, a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for each hazardous chemical, and training of employees on protective measures NCSU Communication Services

27. Federal Endangered Species Protection Act • The Act makes it unlawful to harm any plant or animal species listed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service as endangered or threatened • EPA developed Endangered Species Protection Program in cooperation with USDA, Fish and Wildlife Service • Pesticide use is restricted in areas near listed species • Pesticide labels instruct users to consult county bulletins listing locations where use of pesticides is restricted Tim McCabe

28. Federal Clean Water Act • The Act protects nation’s waterways from both point source and non-point source pollution • Point source pollution is controlled by EPA through a permit system • Amendments in 1987 allow for restriction of non-point source pollution such as agricultural chemical run-off • States are required by EPA to submit management plans for non-point source pollution Ken Hammond

29. Safe Drinking Water Act • The Act authorizes EPA to establish maximum contaminant levels for pesticides in drinking water Ken Hammond

30. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act • The RCRA provides EPA with authority to regulate storage and disposal of pesticides and their containers • Discarded pesticides and containers can be considered solid waste (must meet certain criteria) • Regulations vary for “small quantity” and “large quantity” generators of hazardous waste • Farmers exempt if they triple- rinse used pesticide containers and dispose of them according to product label Tim McCabe

31. Transportation Safety Act • The Act controls all modes of transportation of hazardous waste, including pesticides • U. S. Dept. of Transportation regulations cover handling, shipping, packing and labeling of pesticides; also covers placarding of vehicles • Regulations depend on hazard class to which a pesticide belongs Ken Hammond

32. Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990 • The Act mandated that USDA require all certified pesticide applicators (private as well as commercial) to keep records of “restricted use” pesticide applications • Records must be kept by certified applicator for at least two years after application NCSU Communication Services

33. Literature Cited • DiFonzo, C. 1998. Food Quality Protection Act: First Year Update. Pesticide Research Center, Michigan State University Extension. 4 pp. • Toth, S. J., Jr. 1996. Federal Pesticide Laws and Regulations. Southern Extension and Research Activity - Information Exchange Group 1. 4 pp http://ipmwww.ncsu.edu/safety/Southern_region/fed-pest.pdf