The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking comments on a proposal that could potentially severely restrict the use of pyrethroid insecticides, including Warrior, Mustang and several others.
The agency’s actions are part of a registration review it is conducting on the entire pyrethroid chemistry class. Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, the EPA must review chemistries every 15 years.
As part of the review, EPA formulated several hypotheses and conducted risk assessments for humans and other off-target organisms.
As part of the notice published in the Federal Register, the EPA wrote: “This assessment concludes that the down-the-drain, non-agricultural outdoor, agricultural, and adulticide use patterns of synthetic pyrethroids and pyrethrins may result in multiple exceedances of acute and chronic LOCs (levels of concern) for freshwater and estuarine/marine fish, and for freshwater and estuarine/marine invertebrates, resulting in a potential reduction in survival, growth and reproduction to non-target aquatic animals. In general, the RQs (risk quotients) for aquatic plants were below the LOCs and are considered at less risk.”
Much of the information contained in the risk assessment was based on data from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, since that state requires annual pesticide use reporting.
The Pyrethroid Working Group, comprising product registrants, has provided tips for submitting effective comments on its website.
As of Jan. 26, more than 260 comments have been received on the EPA’s notice. Deadline to comment is Jan. 30.
View the complete notice on the Federal Register.