EPA’s New “Nanomaterials” Definition to Affect Pesticide Registrations
With a new working definition of “nanomaterials,” the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is apparently poised to launch new regulatory policies including those addressing the registration of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The definition, revealed during a PowerPoint® presentation at an April 29, 2010, Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee meeting, is as follows: “An ingredient that contains particles that have been intentionally produced to have at least one dimension that measures between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers.”
The pesticide registration policy, expected to be published in the Federal Register in June, would allow EPA to use section 6(a)(2) of FIFRA, which “requires pesticide product registrants to submit adverse effects information about their products,” to gather information about the use of nanoscale materials in pesticides. Registrants would be required to report the inclusion of nanoscale materials in a pesticide product already registered or pending registration. Under another new policy, EPA would deem nanoscale versions of conventional pesticide ingredients as “new active ingredients,” thus requiring disclosure and possible regulation even if the conventional ingredient is already registered. According to a news source, industry representatives have expressed concerns about EPA’s nanomaterial policies, suggesting that they represent a “controversial interpretation” of the law. See Inside EPA, April 30, 2010.
