The information and recommendations in this Note were developed for North Carolina and may not apply in other areas.
The information and recommendations in this Note were developed for North Carolina and may not apply in other areas.
The 1975 amendments to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) required the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to notify the Secretary of Agriculture in advance of regulatory decisions affecting pesticides and to consider the impact of pesticide cancellations on the production and costs of agricultural commodities. The same year the EPA began to review the registrations of pesticides issued before August 1975 in order to bring older pesticides up to the current registration standards (reregistration). A process called the Rebuttable Presumption Against Registration or RPAR was adopted to further review those pesticides found to pose a risk or concern. In this process (since renamed Special Review), the agency weighs the risks versus the benefits of a pesticide in making a decision on its continued registration.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the
National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program (NAPIAP)
in 1976 for the purpose of providing the most objective and
accurate data available for defining and evaluating benefits and
risks of selected pesticides having critical agricultural and
forestry uses. Data generated by the NAPIAP provide input into
the EPA's reregistration and Special Review of pesticides and
support the Secretary of Agriculture in responding to regulatory
actions proposed by the EPA. By contributing to informed
regulatory decisions on registered pesticides, the NAPIAP seeks to
maintain those pesticide registrations which have significant
benefits to agriculture and forestry, but do not cause unreasonable
adverse effects to human health or the environment.
The National Agricultural Pesticide Impact Assessment Program
currently involves a number of USDA agencies working in cooperation
with the land grant universities in the states and territories.
The NAPIAP provides leadership for the program, coordinates data
collection activities on the federal and state level, prepares
documents on the biologic and economic benefits of pesticides,
supports the National Pesticide Information Retrieval System, and
supplies funding for state programs. Each state and territory
appoints a state liaison representative who serves as a contact
person for the NAPIAP and directs the pesticide impact assessment
activities within the state or territory.
The North Carolina Pesticide Impact Assessment Program is a cooperative program of the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service. Leadership for the program is provided by the State Liaison Representative who serves as the contact person for the NAPIAP and manages the research component of the program, an Extension Pesticide Impact Assessment Specialist who coordinates the program's educational activities, and a Pesticide Impact Assessment Committee which serves in an advisory capacity.
Data on the uses and benefits of pesticides are provided by the North Carolina Pesticide Impact Assessment Program to the NAPIAP in support of federal pesticide registrations important to North Carolina agriculture. Data for individual pesticides are furnished by extension specialists and researchers at North Carolina State University in response to specific requests from the NAPIAP. Pesticide usage data for selected agricultural crops in North Carolina are collected through statewide surveys of growers conducted by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service with special funding from the NAPIAP. Data from the grower surveys are maintained in a database for utilization by the state and federal pesticide impact assessment programs. Short-term research projects are conducted by scientists in the Agricultural Experiment Station to generate field data on the benefits of registered pesticides and measure the impact of these chemicals in the environment. These research projects are supported by regional funding from the NAPIAP.
The Pesticide Impact Assessment Program in North Carolina also
provides timely information on the regulatory status of pesticides
important to agriculture and forestry. Agricultural organizations,
commodity groups, county extension agents, crop consultants,
pesticide dealers and other interested persons within the state are
informed of recent or impending changes in pesticide registrations
through direct mailings, newsletters, articles in popular
publications, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service's
electronic news network, and by additional means of communication.
Extension and research personnel at North Carolina State University
are provided with up-to-date label information from pesticide
products registered with the EPA and North Carolina Department of
Agriculture via the National Pesticide Information Retrieval System
(NPIRS). The NPIRS assists extension and research personnel in
providing the citizens of North Carolina with current and accurate
information on pesticides and pest management.
Published by North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service
Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. Employment and program opportunities are offered to all people regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. North Carolina State University at Raleigh, North Carolina A&T State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and local governments cooperating.
Web page last modified on August 7, 1996 by Stephen J. Toth, Jr.