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United States Pesticide Regulations. By: Meghan Fischer Laura Schroeder Shan Weatherbee. Overview. History of Pesticides/General Information Federal Level Pesticide Registration State Regulations of Pesticide Costs and Benefits of Pesticide Use Political Considerations
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United States Pesticide Regulations By: Meghan Fischer Laura Schroeder Shan Weatherbee
Overview • History of Pesticides/General Information • Federal Level Pesticide Registration • State Regulations of Pesticide • Costs and Benefits of Pesticide Use • Political Considerations • Policy Implementation
Defining Pesticides Purpose: To create a basis for people to understand what pesticides are and their application. Example definition from the EPA A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for: • preventing, • destroying, • repelling, or • mitigating any pest.
Historical Use of Pesticides Purpose: To provide background information about the historical significance of pesticides. • Ancient Romans burned sulfur to kill insects • 1600s arsenic used on ants • Post WWII – application of DDT and 2,4-D • Present – movement towards developing bio-rational pesticides
General Information Purpose: Provide background on the prevalence of pesticides in the U.S. in terms of expenditures and usage. • How much does the U.S. spend in comparison to the rest of the world? • Who is purchasing pesticides and what is their intended use? • How prevalent are pesticides in U.S. Households?
World and U.S. Pesticide Expenditures at User Level by Pesticide Type, 2007 Estimates
User Expenditures on Pesticides in the United States by Pesticide Type and Market Sector, 2007 Estimates
Number of U.S. Households Using Pesticides by Pesticide Type
Registration Process Purpose: To describe what happens before a pesticide is allowed to be distributed, sold, or used in the United States. • EPA Considerations • EPA Concerns for Human Health and Environmental Effects • Acute toxicity tests • Chronic toxicity tests • Length of Registration
How the EPA Regulates Pesticides Purpose: To explain the how the EPA regulates pesticides. • Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) • Federal Registration Actions • Experimental Use Permits (EUP’s) • Emergency Exemptions • State-Specific Registration • Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) • Food Quality Protection Act of 1996
Labeling of Pesticides Purpose: To provide some clarification as to what is a pesticide label and the role it plays in pesticide regulation. • Purpose of a Pesticide Label • “Provide clear directions for effective product performance while minimizing risk to human health and the environment” • Legally binding document for correct use • EPA Approval • Must Use Pesticide as Specified on the Label
History of State Pesticide Regulation Purpose: Explain how states were given authority for pesticide regulation enforcement and training • 1975-pilot program with six states • 1978 • FIFRA amended, giving states lead enforcement responsibility and training/certification responsibility • EPA provides grants to fund state pesticide programs • All except three states make department of agriculture lead pesticide agency • EPA can retake enforcement responsibility if state program is deemed to be inadequate
FIFRA Requirements • State pesticide regulations must be at least as stringent as federal regulations • Procedures for enforcement must be in place • Adequate records of enforcement actions must be kept • EPA requires a certain number of different types of investigations to be carried out • Follow-up investigations • Pesticide-use inspections • Marketplace and dealer inspections • Producer establishment inspections
California’s Pesticide Program Purpose: Provide background on California’s regulations • Lead agency is the Department of Pesticide Regulation, within the California EPA • Funded by regulatory fees • Local regulation by county agricultural commissions • Do human health risk assessments and illness surveillance
California-Pesticide Registration Purpose: Provide information about unique features of California’s pesticide registration regulations • Requires efficacy data for registration • Does not require consideration of pesticide benefits • 1994-EPA and California DPR-agreement to coordinate review of pesticide toxicity studies
Costs of Pesticide Use Purpose: To present an approximate value of the cost of using pesticides within the United States. • Human Health and Environmental Cost • Public health: $1.1 billion/year • Pesticide resistance in pests: $1.5 billion/year • Crop losses caused by pesticides: $1.4 billion/year • Bird losses due to pesticides: $2.2 billion/year • Groundwater contamination: $2.0 billion/year • Registration Process Costs • Purchasing Cost
Benefits of Pesticide Use Purpose: To demonstrate some of the benefits that pesticide provide within the United States. • Increased Food Production • Decreased Cost of Food • Consumer Benefits • Other Benefits • Household pest control • Industry and infrastructure • Recreation areas • Human health
Costs and Benefit Analysis For The Use of Pesticides Purpose: To explain idea of the costs-benefits curve in terms of pesticides by use of case studies that highlight the costs and benefits of pesticide use. • Ideal Level of Pesticide Use • Case Studies: • Conventional vs. organic farming practices • Climate change and role of pesticide use
Climate Change and Role of Pesticide Use • Crop yields higher without excess tillage • Annual savings of 337 million gallons of fuel • Annual savings of an estimated 356 billion pounds of soil that would otherwise end up in waterways • Conservation tillage reduces greenhouse gas emissions in three major ways • Less fossil fuels burned for tillage • Carbon sequestration increased in lower tilled soils • Greater productivity per acre of land
Evolution of Pesticide Regulation Purpose: Review changes in pesticide political climate • FIFRA passed in 1947 • Delaney hearings in 1952 led to FDA involvement in pesticide regulation • 1963-1964 legislative session • 1968 hearings on DDT • 1972 overhaul of FIFRA
Policy Options Purpose: Examine the current regulatory system and examine other possible options. • Quota- based • Taxes • Marketable allowances • Subsidies
Sources • Nownes, AJ. (1991) Interest Groups and the Regulation of Pesticides: Congress, Coalitions, and Closure. Policy Sciences. 24:1 1-18 • Bosso, CJ. (1988) Transforming Adversaries into Collaborators: Interest Groups and the Regulation of Chemical Pesticides. Policy Sciences. 21:1 3-22 • US EPA. (2011) Pesticides: Regulating Pesticides. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/ • US EPA. (2011) Pesticides: Compliance and Enforcement. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/enforcement/index.htm • Legal Information Institute. (2010) State Primary Enforcement Responsibility. Cornell University Law School. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode07/usc_sec_07_00000136---w001-.html • California Department of Pesticide Regulation. How California Regulates Pesticide Use. California Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/dept/factshts/main2.pdf • Arne, KH. (1997). State Pesticide Regulatory Programs: Themes and Variations. Occupational Medicine 12:2 371-385. • Cooper, Jerry and Hans Dobson. "The benefits of pesticides to mankind and the environment." Crop Protection 26 (2007): 1337-1348. • Pimental, David, et al. "Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems." BioScience 55 (2005): 573-582. • Pimentel, David. "Environmental and Economic Costs of the Application of Pesticides Primarily in the United States." Environment, Development and Sustainability 7 (2005): 229-252. • Environmental Protection Agency. White House. Web. 25 Feb. 2011. <http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/#eval>. • CropLife America. Web 1 April 2011. http://www.croplifeamerica.org/crop-protection/benefits. • CropLife America. Web. 1 April 2011. http://www.croplifeamerica.org/pesticide-issues/climate-change. • Delaplane, Keith S. (1996). Pesticide Usage in the United States: History, Benefits, Risks, and Trends. Retrieved April 6th from http://ipm.ncsu.edu/safety/factsheets/pestuse.pdf • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (n.d.). Retrieved April 6th from http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/about/ • Grube, A., Donaldson, D., Kiely, T., and La, W., (2007). Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007 Market Estimates. Retrieved April 6th from http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/pestsales/07pestsales/market_estimates2007.pdf • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (n.d.). Retrieved April 6th from http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/about/