EPA - California Environmental Justice Agreement Concerning Methyl Bromide Use

U.S. EPA has entering into an agreement with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) to resolve a civil rights complaint filed in 1999 under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI). Title VI prohibits intentional discrimination and discriminatory effects on the basis of race, color, and national origin by recipients of federal financial assistance. The complaint alleged that CDPR’s annual renewal of the registration of methyl bromide in 1999 discriminated against Latino school children based on the health impacts of this pesticide. The Office of Civil Rights’ analysis of pesticide use in California from 1995 to 2001, raised concerns that there was an unintentional adverse and disparate impact on Latino children resulting from the use of methyl bromide during that period. This concern was based on the high percentage of Latino children in schools near fields where methyl bromide was applied for the period from 1995-2001. EPA communicated its concerns to CDPR on April 22, 2011.

CDPR has agreed through this Agreement to expand on-going monitoring of methyl bromide air concentrations by adding a monitor at or near one of the Watsonville, CA area schools named in the original complaint. The purpose of the additional monitor is to confirm that there will be no recurrence of earlier conditions. CDPR will share the monitoring results with EPA and the public and will also increase its community outreach and education efforts to schools that are in high methyl bromide usage areas.

California is one of the few states with a program to evaluate and register pesticides for state use beyond national requirements. Since 2001, EPA and the State of California have implemented regulations that address methyl bromide exposure levels. In its 2009 Re-registration, EPA required additional mitigation measures for use of methyl bromide nationwide, including in California. In issuing the Amended Re-registration Eligibility Decision (RED) for methyl bromide in 2009, EPA determined under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) that there is a reasonable certainty of no harm from dietary and all other non-occupational exposures from methyl bromide in the general public when it is used in accordance with its labeling directions. To confirm the effectiveness of these mitigation measures and that exposure levels in communities remain below the Agency’s level of concern, EPA has required the manufacturers of methyl bromide to conduct ambient air monitoring studies in major use areas including California and Florida.

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Toxicity Testing and Environmental Sampling For BPA

As a follow up to the BPA Action Plan released in March 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting public comment on possible toxicity testing and environmental sampling to study BPA’s potential environmental impacts. Comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) must be received on or before September 26, 2011.

BPA is used in the manufacture of a wide range of consumer and industrial products including food-can liners, hard polycarbonate plastics, epoxy paints and coatings, and thermal papers, including some cash register receipts. In January 2010 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would further examine potential human health effects and reduce exposure to BPA in the food supply, which represents the greatest potential source of exposure to people. EPA, FDA, Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences are currently studying ways to better determine and evaluate the potential health consequences of BPA exposures. At the conclusion of that research, EPA will determine if additional actions may be needed to address human health concerns from non-food use exposures.

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Updates To IRIS Reporting Systems

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced plans to improve its Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program as part of an ongoing effort initiated in 2009 to strengthen the program. The latest actions are in response to recommendations received from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). IRIS is a publicly available on-line database that provides high quality science-based human health assessments used to inform the agency’s decisions on protecting public health and the environment. The IRIS database includes more than 540 chemical substances, containing crucial information about how they impact human health.

Under the proposed action, all new IRIS assessment documents will be shorter, clearer and more visual, concise, and transparent. Documents will be more rigorously edited to eliminate inconsistencies and address redundancies and will include more graphical and tabular representations of data. Related discussions will also be consolidated into concise narrative descriptions. EPA will evaluate and describe the strengths and weaknesses of critical studies in a more uniform way. EPA will also indicate which criteria were most influential in evaluating the weight of the scientific evidence supporting its choice of toxicity values.

EPA will also create a new peer consultation step early in the development of major IRIS assessments to enhance the input of the scientific community as assessments are designed.

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Locations For EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study Proposed

As part of the congressionally mandated hydraulic fracturing study. EPA has identified seven case studies it will use in the assessment of potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. The sites identified were selected following input from stakeholders, including the public, local and state officials, industry, and environmental organizations. EPA will begin field work in some of the selected regions this summer.

The studies will take place in several regions across the country, and are broken into two study groups. Two of the seven sites were selected as prospective case studies where EPA will monitor key aspects of the hydraulic fracturing process throughout the lifecycle of a well.

These areas are located in:
Haynesville Shale - DeSoto Parish, LA
Marcellus Shale - Washington County, PA

Five retrospective case studies were selected and will examine areas where hydraulic fracturing has already occurred for any impact on drinking water resources. These are located in:

Bakken Shale - Kildeer, and Dunn Counties, ND
Barnett Shale - Wise and Denton Counties, TX
Marcellus Shale - Bradford and Susquehanna Counties, PA.
Marcellus Shale - Washington County, PA
Raton Basin - Las Animas County, CO

The information gathered from these case studies will include literature review, collection of data and information from states, industry and communities, laboratory work and computer modeling.

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EPA To Review Nanoscale Materials In Pesticides

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced plans to obtain information on nanoscale materials in pesticide products. EPA will gather information on what nanoscale materials are present in pesticide products to determine whether the registration of a pesticide may cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment and human health.

A number of organizations, as well as government, academic and private sector scientists, have considered whether the small size of nanoscale materials or the unique or enhanced properties of nanoscale materials may, under specific conditions, pose new or increased hazards to humans and the environment. EPA also has acknowledged that nanoscale materials have a range of potentially beneficial public and commercial applications, including pest control products.

The new proposed policy options will be published in the Federal Register. The notice is expected to also propose a new approach for how EPA will determine whether a nanoscale ingredient is a “new” active or inert ingredient for purposes of scientific evaluation under the pesticide laws, when an identical, non-nanoscale form of the nanoscale ingredient is already registered under FIFRA.

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EPA Ban On Sale of Mouse and Rat Poisons To Residential Consumers

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it intends to ban the sale to residential consumers of the most toxic rat and mouse poisons, as well as most loose bait and pellet products. The agency is also requiring that all newly registered rat and mouse poisons marketed to residential consumers be enclosed in bait stations that render the pesticide inaccessible to children and pets and reduce the opportunity that wildlife consume bait or poisoned rodents.

In 2008, EPA gave producers of rat and mouse poison until June 4, 2011 to research, develop and register new products that would be safer for children, pets and wildlife. Over the past three years, EPA has worked with a number of companies to achieve that goal, and there are now new products on the market with new bait delivery systems and less toxic baits. These products are considered to be safer to children, as well as pets and wildlife, but still provide effective rodent control for residential consumers.

While many companies that produce rat and mouse poison products have agreed to adopt the new safety measures, a handful of companies have advised EPA that they do not plan to do so. Consequently, EPA intends to initiate cancellation proceedings under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to remove them from the market:

In addition to requiring more-protective bait stations and prohibiting pellet formulations, EPA intends to ban the sale and distribution of rodenticide products containing brodifacoum, bromadiolone, difethialone and difenacoum directly to residential consumers because of their toxicity and the secondary poisoning hazards to wildlife. These rodenticides will still be available for use by professional pest control applicators and will also be allowed for use in agricultural settings.

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New Design for the Environment Safer Product Labeling Program Requirements

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that more than 2,500 products are now authorized by the agency under its Design for the Environment (DfE) Safer Product Labeling Program to carry the DfE label. DfE-labeled products do not contain known chemicals of potential concern, including minor product components, like dyes and fragrances. EPA has also announced that it soon will require manufacturers with products that bear the DfE logo to disclose their ingredients to consumers. Products that carry the DfE label include all-purpose cleaners, laundry and dishwasher detergents, drain line maintainers, car and boat care and other products.

Before allowing the DfE logo to be used on a product label, EPA conducts a scientific evaluation to ensure that candidate products are formulated from the safest possible ingredients. The DfE label means that EPA has screened each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects and that the product contains only ingredients that, in EPA’s scientific opinion, pose the least concern among chemicals in their class.

EPA is also implementing a requirement that new DfE-labeled products list all ingredients (other than trade secrets) on the product label or in another easily accessible location. New DfE-approved products also will have to meet additional life-cycle requirements such as sustainable packaging and limits on volatile organic compounds. The new disclosure and life-cycle requirements will be phased in for existing DfE products.

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