| Volume 9, Number 2, May 8, 1996 |
On April 5, 1996, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced an agreement with Uniroyal to voluntarily cancel the registered uses of propargite for 10 fruit and vegetable crops: apples, apricots, cranberries, figs, green beans, lima beans, peaches, pears, plums, and strawberries. Propargite is used for mite control on various field, fruit, vegetable, and ornamental crops. Some important propargite uses that remain registered include almonds, corn, cotton, hops, grapes, mint, potatoes, and walnuts.
The purpose of the action is to reduce dietary cancer risk from propargite to an acceptable level. EPA emphasized that food already treated with propargite is safe to eat, but there is concern about lifetime exposure and the fact that infants and children eat proportionately greater amounts of some foods treated with propargite than adults do. Uniroyal plans to conduct studies to address EPA's concerns and might ask EPA to reinstate uses in the future.
Uniroyal will immediately stop selling and distributing propargite for the cancelled uses and relabel product in marketing channels Uniroyal will distribute new labels, use its best efforts to have products purchased by growers restickered with new labels, and take back product sold and credit growers to discourage use on the 10 affected crops. Residue tolerances for the affected crops will be phased out to allow time for legally-treated raw crops and their processed products in marketing channels to be sold.
In a separate announcement on February 27, 1996, EPA proposed revoking Section 408 residue tolerances (for raw commodities) for propargite on apples and figs, under its new policies for interpreting the Delaney Clause. EPA proposed these revocations after determining that Section 409 food additive regulations were needed for wet apple pomace and dried figs but could not be granted under the Delaney Clause. EPA also proposed revoking the raw food tolerance for another miticide on apples, dicofol. The revocations would ultimately result in cancelling the registered uses. In the same announcement, EPA proposed retaining raw food tolerances for propargite on grapes and plums.
The voluntary cancellation removes an important component of IPM and resistance management programs for mites on such crops as apples, peaches, plums and prunes, and strawberries. Propargite is one of the least harmful of miticides to natural enemies of mites, such as predatory mites, lacewings, ladybird beetles, and parasitic wasps (Dennehy, 1994 National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program (NAPIAP) Propargite Assessment). Using propargite instead of other miticides: 1) reduces reliance on pesticides because natural enemies contribute to pest control, 2) helps manage mite resistance to miticides because selection pressure is low, and 3) helps to avoid induced pest problems that result from using less selective materials. Since propargite is in a different chemical class (organosulfite) than other miticides, it is useful in resistance management programs that alternate two or more miticides.
Published estimates of propargite use range from 3.6 to 5.1 million pounds of active ingredient per year (Gianessi and Anderson, National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP), 1995, and 1994 NAPIAP Propargite Assessment); EPA estimates that 1-3 million pounds are used. The cancelled uses account for 10-15 percent of annual propargite use; apples, peaches, plums and prunes, and strawberries account for most of that portion. NAPIAP, National Agricultural Statistics Service, and NCFAP reports indicate that 25-30 percent of the apple, 10-15 percent of the peach, 20 percent of the plum and prune, and 10-20 percent of the strawberry acreages are annually treated with propargite.
Based on the 1994 NAPIAP propargite assessment estimates for apples, peaches, plums and prunes, and strawberries as adjusted by the range of propargite use estimates for each crop, the impact of the action will be roughly $20-40 million, with the largest impact on apples (approximately $15 million). (Note: EPA did not present these estimates.) The estimates assume that the only miticide alternatives were those registered when the assessment was conducted and that they remain effective. No estimate is available for cranberries, but propargite is the only registered miticide for southern red mite (Massachusetts only).
An important issue is the future availability of effective options for
mite management. For example, the NAPIAP propargite assessment estimated
that mites could cause losses to apples of $100 million per year with no
control. So, if the cancellation of propargite contributes to reduced
effectiveness of remaining miticides due to increased mite resistance,
financial losses could become significantly larger than those estimated in
the previous paragraph. To alleviate such problems, EPA officials said the
Agency will give priority review to alternative miticides for the cancelled
uses and grant Section 18 emergency exemptions when necessary. Propargite
Briefing Paper, National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program, U.
S. Department of Agriculture April 8, 1996
EPA has proposed to terminate the Special Review of the pesticide cyanazine after all registrants amended their registrations to reduce application rates, impose other use restrictions and phase out all uses of cyanazine by December 31, 1999. This action will result in the complete phase-out of one of the top five most widely used pesticides in the United States. EPA believes that the voluntary phase-out and reduced use of this pesticide are a sound way to reduce risk to human health and the environment without disrupting agricultural production. EPA placed cyanazine (along with atrazine and simazine, two chemically-similar herbicides) in Special Review in November 1994, after determining that long-term exposure to this pesticide may pose a significant risk to public health. (The Special Review of atrazine and simazine will continue.) Animal studies indicate that exposure to cyanazine may cause cancer. Workers may be exposed to cyanazine while mixing, loading or applying this pesticide. Residues of cyanazine have also been found in food (allowable residue levels have been established in food) and in some ground and surface water, which are used for drinking water. EPA is also concerned that the prevalence of the pesticide may pose ecological risks.
The Agency has concluded that the terms and conditions of the amended
cyanazine registrations will eliminate the concerns EPA identified in the
initiation of the Special Review. Under the terms and conditions of the
registrations, allowed use rates will drop dramatically during the phase-out
period, beginning in 1997. After 1998, all applications must be made from an
enclosed cab. Cyanazine is used primarily in corn fields to control a variety
of broadleaf weeds and grasses, and an estimated 23-36 million pounds are
used annually. DuPont Agricultural Products of Wilmington, Delaware, and
Griffin Corporation of Valdosta, Georgia, are the manufacturers of cyanazine.
Ciba-Geigy Plant Protection of Greensboro, North Carolina, also has one
registered product which the company has voluntarily canceled. The cyanazine
action was expected to be published in the Federal Register on, March 1,
1996. All comments are due 30 days after publication and should be sent to:
Public Response and Program Resources Branch, Field Operations Division
(7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency,
401 M St. SW, Washington, D.C. 20460. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency March 4, 1996
In a final rule, EPA is exempting from federal pesticide regulation certain low risk substances which are used as pesticides. The Agency has determined that the substances covered by the exemption, many of which are common food ingredients, pose little or no risk to public health or the environment. The exemption rule will relieve producers of the costs and resources expended in obtaining pesticide registrations, provided certain labeling requirements are met. To qualify for exempted status, pesticide products may only contain active ingredients that have been specifically exempted by EPA and only those inert ingredients that have been identified by EPA as minimum risk. (The list of minimum risk inert ingredients was last published in the Federal Register on September 28, 1994 (59 FR 49400-49401).) The labels of exempt products must list all active ingredients by percentage, as well as all inert ingredients. Labels must also comply with established regulations regarding false and misleading statements and cannot bear claims that the pesticide will control or mitigate microorganisms that pose a threat to human health, such as disease-transmitting bacteria or viruses, or claims that specify possible control for diseases carried by insects or rodents (for example, ticks that carry Lyme disease).
The substances exempted by the final rule are: castor oil, (U.S.P. or
equivalent), cedar oil, cinnamon and cinnamon oil, citric acid, citronella
and citronella oil, cloves and clove oil, corn gluten meal, corn oil,
cottonseed oil, dried blood, eugenol, garlic and garlic oil, geraniol,
geranium oil, lauryl sulfate, lemon grass oil, linseed oil, malic acid, mint
and mint oil, peppermint and peppermint oil, 2-Phenethyl propionate
(2-phenylethyl propionate), potassium sorbate, putrescent whole egg solids,
rosemary and rosemary oil, sesame and sesame oil, sodium chloride (common
salt), sodium lauryl sulfate, soybean oil, thyme and thyme oil, white pepper,
and zinc metal strips (consisting solely of zinc metal and impurities). EPA
proposed the exemptions in September 1994. Numerous comments were received,
including suggestions for exempting additional active and inert ingredients.
EPA will consider these suggestions in deciding upon future exemptions. All
exempt products currently registered will remain registered unless
voluntarily canceled by the registrants. The exemption rule becomes
effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency March 4, 1996
What are the costs of registering a pesticide? Eight companies pooled
product registration data for 13 compounds for a period from 1989 and 1993.
The average time required from discovery to registration of a pesticide was
125.3 months or 10.4 years. The average cost from discovery to registration
was $35.9 million and the time required from application to approval by EPA
was 33.6 months. Mississippi's Environment, Mississippi State University
24(1), January 1996
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency on March 15 revoked the food additive tolerances (maximum allowable residue levels) for five pesticides in 13 processed foods. The Agency's action is another in a series of Delaney Clause related actions required by a 1992 U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision.
The tolerances being revoked are: ethylene oxide on ground spices; mancozeb in oat bran; propargite on dried figs and dried tea; propylene oxide on cocoa, glace fruit, gums, processed nutmeats (except peanuts), dried prunes, processed spices, and starch; simazine on sugarcane molasses and potable (drinking) water. The revocations become effective in 60 days unless appeals are filed.
Most of these revocations are not expected to have significant impacts. However, a few of the revocations could have impacts where substitute treatments are less effective or not available. EPA is working with farmers and food processors to make sure that any impacts on the industry are minimized, while protecting the public's health.
In July 1994, EPA proposed to revoke food additive tolerances in 26 processed foods, which included the 13 food additive tolerances being revoked and noted above. In this action, EPA also is revoking the other 13 food additive tolerances. However, the Agency action on the latter 13 food additive tolerances is not based on the Delaney Clause, but rather on new data indicating that these tolerances are not needed, primarily, because the pesticides do not concentrate in the ready-to-eat form of the food. Such tolerances are not required when the pesticide used in the raw commodity does not concentrate in the processed food or feed. Therefore, these revocations do not affect the continued use of the pesticides on food crops and will not have economic impacts.
The 13 food additive tolerances being revoked because they are not needed are: captan in raisins; mancozeb on barley and rye bran and on oat, barley, rye and wheat flour; oxyfluorfen in peppermint, spearmint, soybean and cottonseed oils; propargite in raisins; and simazine in sugarcane syrup.
The Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act prohibits
approval of food additive regulations if the pesticide is found to induce
cancer in humans or animals, regardless of the level of risk. The EPA takes
this action based on findings that these five pesticides cause cancer in
animals. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency March 18, 1996
The National Agricultural Statistics Service has published the results of surveys of fertilizer and pesticide use on corn, upland cotton, fall potatoes, soybeans, and wheat during the 1995 crop year. These surveys, funded through the Water Quality Initiative, provide data on agricultural chemical use to address water quality and food safety issues. Operators of sampled fields were personally interviewed to obtain information on the chemical applications made to those fields. North Carolina was included in the corn and soybean surveys.
Herbicides were applied to 96% of the corn, 97% of the upland cotton, 87% of the fall potato, 97% of the soybean, and 56% of the winter wheat acreage in the U. S. during 1995. Atrazine was the most commonly used herbicide on corn (65% of the acreage), followed by metolachlor and dicamba (29 and 27% of the acreage, respectively). Trifluralin was used the most on cotton (60% of the acreage), while metribuzin was used on the highest percentage of the fall potato acreage (67%). Imazethapyr was applied to 44% of the soybean acreage, while pendimethalin and glyphosate were applied to 26 and 20% of the soybean acreage, respectively. 2,4-D was applied most to the winter wheat acreage (26%).
Insecticides were used on 27% of the corn, 75% of the upland cotton, 88% of the fall potato, 2% of the soybean, and 5% of the winter wheat acreage in the U. S. during 1995. Chlorpyrifos and terbufos were most commonly used insecticides on corn (7 and 6% of the acreage). Methyl parathion was used most widely on cotton (26% of the acreage), followed by lambdacyhalothrin (21%). On fall potato, carbofuran and methamidophos were the most common used insecticides (24 and 23% of the acreage, respectively).
Less than 1% of the corn, 8% of the upland cotton, 85% of the fall potato, less than 1% of the soybean, and 1% of the winter wheat acreage in the U. S. were treated with fungicides during 1995. Metalaxyl and PCNB were each used on 6% of the cotton acreage, while chlorothalonil and mancozeb were applied to 65 and 45% of the fall potato acreage, respectively.
Herbicides were applied to 98% of the corn acreage and 91% of the
soybean acreage in North Carolina during 1995. 2,4-D (48% of the acreage)
and atrazine (42%) were the most commonly used herbicides on corn in the
state. Chlorimuron-ethyl (31% of the acreage) and metribuzin (22%) were used
most on soybeans. Insecticides were applied to 29% of the corn acreage and
10% of the soybean acreage in North Carolina during 1995. Terbufos and
chlorpyrifos were used on 20 and 7% of the corn acreage in the state,
respectively. Agricultural Chemical Usage: 1995 Field Crops Summary, U. S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service March
1996
EPA has issued a conditional registration for an new reduced use
pesticide, Cadre, approved for postemergence control of a broad spectrum of
grasses in peanut fields and non-crop areas. The registration is conditional
on the completion of additional studies on birds and fish which the
manufacturer has agreed to obtain and submit to EPA. All other studies have
been submitted and approved by the Agency. In addition to being a compound
with very low toxicity, the new pesticide is expected to offer a broader
spectrum of weed from a single product than previously available, thereby
reducing the amount of pesticide used and potential exposure to humans and
the environment. It is expected to be used as part of integrated pest
management programs, an environmentally sensitive approach to pest control
that relies on a combination of techniques to achieve the best results with
the least disruption of the environment. The registrant is American Cyanamid
Co., of Wayne, New Jersey. EPA expedites registration of reduced-risk
pesticides as a way of promoting industry research and development of lower
risk products. The earlier registration allows the industry to market the
products sooner than would normally be the case. U. S. Environmental
Protection Agency April 1, 1996
Has agricultural research in the U. S. been a good investment?
According to the January 5, 1996 issue of The Kiplinger Agriculture Letter,
agricultural research contributed to a 73% increase in productivity between
1953 and 1993. The result of this productivity is that only about 7% of the
total personal consumption spending of U. S. consumers is for food, compared
to approximately 11-22% in other developed countries and 35-55% in lesser
developed counties around the world. The annual rate of return on investment
for agricultural research is in excess of 20%. Agricultural research
involves a variety of disciplines, including but not limited to entomology,
plant pathology, meteorology, biochemistry, soil science, food science,
economics, microbiology and genetics. Areas of agricultural research are
crop production (growing better plants), pest control (natural plant
defenses, chemical pesticides, biopesticides and natural predators), resource
conservation, new crop uses, food safety, marketing, economics, and others.
The Kiplinger Agriculture Newsletter 67(1), January 5, 1996
* The U. S. EPA has proposed to revoke the tolerances for residues of three herbicides (chloroxuron, chloramben, and diethatyl-ethyl) in or on raw agricultural commodities (RACs). This proposed revocation will be delayed until March 1, 1999, to allow growers who may still have stocks of these pesticides on hand to use up their supplies and permit any treated raw commodities and products to move through market channels. The last registered uses of these pesticides were canceled in 1993, 1991, and 1988 for diethatyl-ethyl, chloramben, and chloroxuron, respectively. If finalized, tolerances will continue until March 1, 1999 for products of these commodities: chloroxuron (carrots, celery, onions, soybeans, and strawberries), chloramben (beans, cantaloupes, corn, cucumbers, peanuts, pigeon peas, peppers, pumpkins, soybeans, squash, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes), diethatyl-ethyl (beets (red), spinach, and sugar beets). Send written comments, mentioning OPP-300396, to the Public Response Section of EPA by June 3, 1996. For information contact: Mr. Owen F. Beeder, EPA, Registration Division, Telephone: 703-308-8351, Fax: 703-308-8369, E-mail: beeder.owen@epamail. epa.gov. Send written comments to: Public Response Section (7506C), EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, E-mail: opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov. Reregistration Notification Network, U. S. Department of Agriculture 6(2), April 15, 1996
* The U. S. EPA has proposed to revoke the tolerances for residues of two herbicides (allidochlor and chlorfenac), three fungicides (biphenyl, butylamine, and chlorosulfamic acid), and two insecticides (calcium cyanide and chlorthiophos) immediately in or on all raw agricultural commodities. The registered uses of these pesticides were canceled on the following dates: allidochlor (1984), biphenyl (1992), butylamine (1989), calcium cyanide (1989), chlorfenac (1987), chlorosulfamic acid (none), and chlorthiophos (1984). The EPA is not recommending the establishment of action levels in place of these regulations. Send written comments, mentioning OPP-300396, to the Public Response Section of EPA by June 3, 1996. For information contact: Mr. Owen F. Beeder, EPA, Registration Division, Telephone: 703-308-8351, Fax: 703-308-8369, E-mail: beeder.owen@epamail.epa.gov. Send written comments to: Public Response Section (7506C), EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460, E-mail: opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov. Reregistration Notification Network, U. S. Department of Agriculture 6(2), April 15, 1996
* The U. S. EPA has amended its 1991 notice on the use of existing stocks of canceled, amended, or suspended products. In the future, the U. S. EPA will provide notice and an opportunity for comment when it intends to modify the existing stocks provision for a canceled pesticide for which the U. S. EPA has a risk concern. Following a comment period, it will publish its final decision, findings, and rationale when it modifies existing stocks provisions for chemicals of concern. This new policy results from a suit filed by the United Farmworkers of America on August 15, 1995 challenging EPA's modification of the mevinphos cancellation order. As part of its settlement agreement, EPA agreed to amend its existing stocks policy to permit a greater degree of public involvement in its existing stocks dispositions. Reregistration Notification Network, U. S. Department of Agriculture 6(3), April 26, 1996
* The U. S. EPA has identified certain pesticide-crop combinations that have raw agricultural food tolerances and need processed food tolerances. This is the first annual listing of newly identified pesticides uses related to the Delaney Clause and is required for five years as outlined in a court-approved settlement agreed to by EPA on February 9, 1995. The Delaney Clause prohibits the establishment or maintenance of a tolerance on processed food for a pesticide that is found to induce cancer. This listing does not affect the regulatory status of any raw or processed food tolerance.
Pesticides newly identified as needing food additive tolerances are: iprodione (dried prunes), metolachlor (processed potato waste), permethrin (wet apple pomace), phosmet (raisin waste, wet and dry pomace of grapes), and thiophanate-methyl (wet apple pomace).
For additional information contact: Ms. Jean M. Frane, EPA, Policy & Special Projects, Telephone: 703-305-5944, Fax: 703-305-6244, E-mail: frane.jean@epamail.epa.gov. Reregistration Notification Network, U. S. Department of Agriculture 6(3), April 26, 1996
* The U. S. EPA has proposed to revoke the tolerances for the residues of
triphenyltin hydroxide (TPTH) in or on carrots, peanuts, and peanut hulls.
The uses that led to the residues of this fungicide have been canceled. TPTH
use was canceled on peanuts in 1988 and on carrots in 1991. Reregistration
Notification Network, U. S. Department of Agriculture 6(3), April 26, 1996
Web page last updated on 13 May 1996 by
Stephen J. Toth, Jr..