Pesticides and People

[Guest guest]

I wonder how much progress the EPA is making on this

goal - Published in 1999. Does anyone know? - Rogene

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http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1999/107-3/forum.html

For farmers, researchers, and consumers concerned

about the pesticides used on food, the next seven

years will be momentous. By August 2006, the EPA's

Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) plans to have taken

a second look at every limit that has been set for an

amount of residual pesticide that can remain in a food

product. That means that the OPP will be reviewing

some 9,700 tolerances that have been set for 470

pesticides. The goal of the reviews is to address the

key issues raised in the 1996 Food Quality Protection

Act (FQPA): Does the pesticide tolerance allow for

possible aggregate exposures? Could residues below the

tolerable limit be dangerous when combined with

exposures to other pesticides? Does the tolerance

sufficiently protect children? And what are the

effects of the pesticide on the endocrine system?

Based on the reviews, the EPA will set new tolerances,

and it is likely that some pesticide uses will be

banned altogether.

For the many stakeholders that will want to

scrutinize the OPP's decisions over the next seven

years, the EPA has provided the OPP home page, located

on the World Wide Web at

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides. For background

information on the legislation that is shaping most of

the OPP's current work, users can select the FQPA link

on the menu bar at the top of the OPP home page. The

What's New link on the home page provides a summary of

all the recent actions taken by the OPP. Here, people

involved in agribusiness can see if the OPP is

reviewing a pesticide of concern to them, scientists

can access the latest research guidelines proposed by

the OPP, and consumers can view the most recent

warnings about health effects associated with

pesticide consumption. Drafts of OPP decisions are

posted here while the office seeks public comment on

them. Information on how to submit comments is

provided.

To read about past actions taken by the OPP, users can

click on the links on the left side of the home page.

The Researchers & Scientists link, for example, is

connected to the final report outlining how the EPA

will determine if a pesticide affects the endocrine

system, and a description of how the OPP determines

dietary exposure to a pesticide. Links to pesticide

databases and information on selected grant programs

are also provided here.

Under the Business & Industry link, the EPA provides

software that can be downloaded to use the Pesticide

Tolerance Index System, a regularly updated list of

all the limits set on pesticide residues in food. Also

linked to the Business & Industry section is a

database containing registration information on 89,000

pesticide products. To view a concise list of the

pesticides that have been banned or severely

restricted in the United States, users can select the

International Activities link on the OPP home page,

and then choose the FIFRA Section 17(a) Notification

of Exports link. Activities specific to one area of

the country can be found on the pesticide pages

maintained by each EPA region; these can be accessed

by following the Regions, States and Tribes link on

the home page.

For people who are less concerned with the details of

regulatory decisions and more concerned with how

pesticides might affect them, the EPA provides the

Concerned Citizens link on the OPP home page. Included

under this link is advice on how to control pests

safely in your home, information about the possibility

of pesticides being present in well water, and a

straightforward description of the steps the EPA is

taking to protect people from pesticides.

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Last Updated: March 1, 1999