ot: EPA may inspect natural insect-repellents

[Guest guest]

Once again (as usual), a so-called " regulatory " agency appears to be

acting on behalf of Chema (Big Chemistry, akin to Pharma). Not wanting to

DEET myself, I've used a Neem-based repellent quite successfully against

mosquitoes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

- - - -

EPA may inspect 'natural' repellents

By Jeff Nesmith

COX NEWS SERVICE

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/16326730.htm

WASHINGTON - When Bessette, a West Palm Beach, Fla., lawyer, was

told by his pregnant wife he no longer could have the house sprayed for

termites, palmetto bugs and other insects, he started looking for

alternatives.

Now no longer practicing law, Bessette heads EcoSMART Technologies, a

company that operates from an office in Alpharetta, Ga., selling

formulations brewed from peppermint oil, thyme and other " natural "

products for controlling farm and home pests.

Hollie Mulhaupt, an Austin, Texas, nurse, said warnings that the popular

bug repellent DEET causes nerve damage prompted her to come up with Texas

Bug Juice, her own mix of natural plant oils to drive away mosquitoes.

On its Web site, her Texas Herbal Body Solutions Co. says the bug

repellent not only can make camping trips and picnics more enjoyable, but

also can help you avoid insect-borne West Nile virus.

Mulhaupt and Bessette are players in the " natural pesticides " industry,

which claims rapid sales growth in the past decade.

Now, the makers of conventional pesticides are asking the Environmental

Protection Agency to require proof that these products actually work.

Currently, the EPA does not regulate " minimum-risk " pesticides produced

from natural products such as peppermint oil, licorice, garlic, lemon

grass, and thyme that are " generally recognized as safe. "

As long as labels do not make a specific health claim, or list a specific

disease that a targeted bug or other pest may carry, the EPA doesn't even

require marketers to prove that the substances work.

The Consumer Specialty Products Association, whose members include

manufacturers of conventional chemical pesticides, sent the EPA a petition

in March arguing that a product that claims to kill or repel a pest known

to carry a disease is making a health claim, even if its label does not

specifically refer to the disease.

It asks the EPA to require manufacturers of such products to provide

scientific data showing that the products are efficacious.

Consumers already know ticks spread Lyme disease and mosquitoes carry the

West Nile virus, and may use natural products to protect themselves from

those diseases, the petition notes.

In addition, the claim that Texas Bug Juice can help you avoid the West

Nile virus can legally appear on Herbal Body Solutions' Web site, possibly

moving the claim away from EPA's regulatory reach, the association says.

" This is a public health issue, " said Kellner, vice president and

general counsel of the Washington-based trade group. " We are concerned

about products that mislead people into thinking that they are effective,

when in fact they are not. "

Natural product manufacturers say requirements that they produce expensive

scientific data could put them out of business.

Some environmental groups, pleased with the growth of alternatives to

controversial chemical pesticides, agree.

Sass of the Natural Resources Defense Council said the EPA

routinely waives efficacy requirements for conventional farm pesticides,

which make up the overwhelming share of the market.

Her group and others, such as Beyond Pesticides and the Glynn

Environmental Coalition of Brunswick, Ga., say the agency should do a

thorough review of the way it regulates all pesticides, not just those

based on natural substances.

Bessette, who says his EcoSMART Technologies contracts with chemical

manufacturers to blend his patented pest-killing formulas, believes big

pesticide manufacturers are out to eliminate growing competition.

" Nobody was concerned about botanicals until we started taking market

share, " he said. " Now they want to put as many hurdles between us and the

market as possible. "

" That's the only reason this petition has been filed, " he added.

Patent Office records show Bessette's most recent patent was issued in

September for a blend of benzyl alcohol and phenethyl propionate, both on

the EPA list of minimum-risk substances, for use killing ants, fleas,

beetles, flies, crickets, pill bugs, spiders and quite a few other

creepy-crawlies.

He says field trials by companies that use his EcoSMART formulations have

shown them to be effective.

His customers seem to agree.

Western Exterminator Co. of Anaheim said in a comment on the petition

before EPA that it has tested an EcoSMART product in over 2,500 homes and

found the effectiveness and cost to be " in line with conventional "

pesticides.

Sergeant's Pet Care Products of Omaha, Neb., noted in another comment that

until recently it marketed only conventional pet pesticides.

However, it said it has found that new natural products are " highly

effective and have superior safety profiles " over conventional chemicals.

On the other hand, the Association of State Pesticide Control Officials

urged EPA to approve the new requirements.

" With so much at stake relating to health and people wanting to use 'safe'

products, it appears time that these materials are held accountable to

ensure they actually do protect human and animal health, " the organization

said.

NATURAL BUG FIGHTERS

The Environmental Protection Agency exempts the following " minimum-risk

pesticides " from regulation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and

Rodenticide Act:

Castor oil, cedar oil, cinnamon and cinnamon oil, cloves and clove oil,

corn gluten meal, corn oil, cottonseed oil, dried blood, eugenol, garlic

and garlic oil, geraniol, geranium oil, lauryl sulfate, lemongrass oil,

linseed oil, malic acid, mint and mint oil, peppermint and peppermint oil,

2-phenethyl proprionate, potassium sorbate, putrescent whole egg solids,

rosemary and rosemary oil, sesame and sesame oil, sodium chloride, sodium

lauryl sulfate, soybean oil, thyme and thyme oil, white pepper, and zinc

metal strips.

-- News Service

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