EPA Responds to Petition for Formulation and Mixture Testing
Released on September 29, 2023
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a response to a 2017 citizen petition filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS). The petitioner requested that the Agency amend Title 40 part 158 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR Part 158) to require additional toxicity testing for pesticide products and tank mixtures (when a user combines the pesticide product with other ingredients prior to application).
The petition asserted that EPA does not adequately assess the environmental impact from use of pesticide products or tank mixes as most of EPA’s data requirements pertain to the pesticide’s active ingredient.
EPA explains in its response to the petition that the Agency appropriately assesses, as part of its review, the impacts to human health and the environment, including potential impacts from pesticide products and tank mixes, and why the additional testing that the petition sought would not in general provide a better picture of the risks of a pesticide product. As a result, EPA is denying the request to amend the regulatory testing requirements.
EPA recognizes that additional information, beyond data required under 40 CFR part 158, may in some cases have value in evaluating potential effects to humans and the environment. EPA is reiterating the responsibility of the regulated community to report incidents involving pesticides, and any other information available concerning adverse effects from the use of a pesticide. EPA also has the authority to require additional data when the Agency reviews a pesticide application and determines that such data are necessary to evaluate risk. EPA also recognizes that the science for assessing potential effects to humans and the environment continues to evolve, and that new approach methodologies may provide additional tools (e.g., high-throughput in vitro assays) to evaluate potential effects from mixtures more efficiently.
To read EPA’s full response to the petition visit EPA-HQ-OPP-2018-0262 at www.regulations.gov.