EPA Denies Environmental Group’s Petition on 2,4-D
10 April 2012 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has denied a petition filed in 2008 by the Natural Resources Defense Council environmental group requesting that the agency cancel product registrations and revoke all tolerances for 2,4-D.
EPA said it evaluated all the data cited by NRDC and new studies submitted to EPA in response to the reregistration decision. Included in the studies is a reproduction study providing an in-depth examination of 2,4-D’s potential for endocrine disruptor, neurotoxic, and immunotoxic effects. “This study and EPA’s comprehensive review confirmed EPA’s previous finding that the 2,4-D tolerances are safe,” the agency said in a statement.
EPA said it also reviewed NRDC’s request that it cancel all 2,4-D product registrations. “Based on studies addressing endocrine effects on wildlife species and the adequacy of personal protective equipment for workers, the Agency concluded that the science behind our current ecological and worker risk assessments for 2,4-D is sound and there is no basis to change the registrations,” EPA said in a statement.
In 2005, EPA completed a review on the registration and on the safety of the tolerances for 2,4-D. It determined that all products containing 2,4-D are eligible for reregistration, provided certain changes were incorporated into the labels and additional data were generated and submitted to the EPA for review.
Additionally, EPA issued an updated schedule for the pesticide registration review program. The updated schedule provides the timetable for opening dockets for the registration review program, from fiscal year 2012 through has 2015, and includes information on dockets that opened in FY 2007 through FY 2011. The schedule reflects the Agency’s plan to continue to open about 70 new dockets each year through 2017. Following this schedule, EPA will complete the first 15-year cycle of registration review by October 1, 2022, for all pesticides registered as of October 1, 2007.
The Schedule for Beginning Reviews and an explanation of the schedule are available at:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registration_review/schedule.htm .
Information about the status of individual pesticides in registration review is available at http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/chemicalsearch/ and in the dockets for these pesticides.
Information about the registration review program is available at:
http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/registration_review/index.htm .
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