Pesticide Regulation

1. Pesticide Regulation Susan King Extension Specialist University of Delaware

2. F Q P A Pesticide Regulation • Pesticide Laws • Pesticide Registration

3. Pesticide Laws • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act – FIFRA • Food Quality Protection Act – FQPA

4. Pesticide Law FIFRA • General Use Pesticides • Anyone may use

5. Pesticide Law FIFRA • General Use Pesticides • Anyone may use • Restricted Use Pesticides • Certified Licensed Applicators

6. Pesticide LawFIFRA EPA determines how pesticides are Registered

7. Pesticide LawFIFRA EPA determines how pesticides are Sold Disposed of Stored Handled Transported Applied

8. Pesticide Registration Tests: • Toxicology • Single dose

9. Pesticide Registration Tests: • Toxicology • Lifetime exposure • Reproduction • Mutations • Cancer

10. Pesticide Registration Tests: • Environmental fate • Breakdown in soil, water

11. Pesticide Registration Tests: • Environmental fate • Movement • Runoff • Leaching • Drift

12. Pesticide Registration Tests: • Ecological effects • Birds • Fish • Non-target plants

13. Pesticide Registration Tests: • Residue Analysis

14. Pesticide Registration Residue Analysis: Pesticide applied according to proposed label rates & procedures. Then pesticide residues on crops are measured.

15. How much residue is safe?

16. Pesticide Tolerances The amount of pesticide residue that will be legally allowed on food.

17. 300 ppm =No Effect Level

18. 10 X, animal test 300 ppm =No Effect Level 30 ppm

19. 10 X, animal test 10X, human variability 300 ppm =No Effect Level 30 ppm 3 ppm

20. 10 X, animal test 10X, human variability 10x, kids 300 ppm =No Effect Level 30 ppm 3 ppm 0.3 ppm

21. 0.3 ppm spread over 5 crops = Tolerance Average 0.06 ppm each

22. Residue Testing Tolerance Setting Pesticide Registration If residue < tolerance, Pesticide registered

23. Safety Nets • Never eat all crops in one day! • Every day! • For 70 years!

24. Safety Nets • Never eat all crops in one day! • Every day! • For 70 years! • Max rate not used! • To all fields! • To all parts of field!

26. Explain pesticide registration to your neighbor.

27. F Q P A FQPA -- The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996

28. F Q P A “Reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate pesticide exposure”

29. The Risk Cup EPA has compared setting tolerances to filling a “Risk Cup”

30. The Risk Cup Exposure that you could receive every day. For 70 years. With no significant risk of long term, health effects.

31. EPA must lump compounds with a common mechanism of toxicity

32. Common Mode of Action Guthion malathion Lorsban 39 OP’s

33. 0.3 ppm OP spread over 5 crops = Tolerance Average 0.06 ppm OP each

34. EPA must consider aggregate exposure Pets Home Water Garden Food

35. Aggregate Exposure Chlorpyrifos(Dursban, Lorsban)

36. Dietary/ Non-Dietary Exposure & Common Mechanism of Toxicity

37. If the risk cup gets full, manufacturers could reduce risk…

38. By eliminating uses… … Especially minor uses!

39. FQPA HITS • Methyl parathion • Azinphos methyl • Chlorphyrifos • Bendiocarb • Ethyl parathion

40. Changes in pesticide labels to reduce risk? • Reduce number of sprays • Reduce application rate • Change formulation

41. Summary • Procedure for setting • tolerances • Common mode of action • Aggregate exposure

42. Summary • Procedure for setting • tolerances • Common mode of action • Aggregate exposure • Manufacturers need to • reduce risk

43. Summary • Procedure for setting • tolerances • Common mode of action • Aggregate exposure • Manufacturers need to • reduce risk • EPA needs “Real Life” data