We all know there are pesticides that are no longer around anymore. Products like DDT have been gone for decades (nearly 40 years) and others have come and gone. But how do they go away, is it voluntary, mandatory, slow, fast….Can EPA ban pesticides? Read on to find out how they can, and that for the first time in 40 years, they just did.
Our long time readers will know that the journey into regulating pesticides really got started with Rachel Carson and the publishing of Silent Spring. Back in the old days the only real regulations in place were to ensure that if a product claimed to have a pesticide in it, then it had to be in there AND it had to do something. The world we know today, where there are limits on what can be used, how much, by whom, and where, simply did not exist. In fact, many saw pesticides as a miracle cure, I ask are the kids in this photo running toward or away from that DDT plume? Silent Spring, correctly, brought attention to the clear downsides to unregulated use of unregulated substances. The movement kick started by the publishing of Silent Spring led to real action.
History in Action
By 1970 a flurry of activity was moving towards creating a formal government agency that would look not just at pesticides, but in protecting people and the environment as a whole from possible pollutants. On December 4, 1970, The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had it’s first administrator and was open for business. For history buffs out there the first administrator was William Ruckelshaus and he was appointed by President Richard Nixon. Almost 54 years later the EPA is still up and running and working to protect people and the environment.
I promise, we are almost done with history. How do pesticides fit in here? Well pesticides have been regulated since the Federal Insecticide Act in 1910. This later became the Federal Insecticide Fungicide Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) in 1947 which was overseen by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1947. Again, the primary goal was to protect consumers from fraud, not safety and environmental protection. Finally in 1972 FIFRA was amended to function under the EPA and do all the labeling, registration, testing, enforcement, all the things we associate with it today.
In FIFRA EPA has tremendous authority to deny a product registration, to amend the uses for a product all the way up to cancelling a products registration. Oftentimes when the EPA finds new data that would require some change, the pesticide company itself will do a voluntary label amendment or even voluntary cancellation. In this instance any future product would be sold with new instructions or there won’t be anymore product made. Sometimes this process isn’t voluntary, the EPA mandates changes or cancellations BUT that change only takes effect on new products, all the old products can be used as is.
Pesticide Banned
On August 7th, 2024, the EPA took another approach, one that hasn’t been done since DDT was banned in 1972. This week the EPA issued an emergency cancelation and stop use of dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA), a pesticide also known as Dacthal. This means that products can’t be sold, distributed or USED. So even jugs already in someone’s chemical supply, even if they used it one day earlier, must now remain sealed. No more product will leave a jug from this day forward.
Understanding the Action
To better understand this ban, think of it like this:
- What is DCPA/Dacthal?
- Dacthal is a pesticide used to control weeds in agricultural and non-agricultural settings. The following products contain DCPA and are affected by the EPA’s order:
- Dacthal Flowable Herbicide (EPA Reg. No. 5481-487), the only product registered for use in Florida.
- Dacthal W-75 Herbicide (EPA Reg. No. WI050002), an older formulation possibly contained within some chemical storage facilities.
- Technical Chlorthal Dimethyl (EPA Reg. No. 54851-495), a technical-grade material primarily used to formulate DCPA. Possibly found in some research labs.
- What are the restrictions?
- Any product containing DCPA cannot be sold, distributed or used. All remaining products in storage may not be used. Effective Aug. 7, any use of DCPA would constitute misuse and thereby be illegal.
- What is the recommended method of disposing of DCPA?
- Follow label instructions to keep all products securely stored and ensure they are clearly marked “Not for Use.”
Operation Cleansweep, a Florida Department of Environmental Protection program that provides hazardous waste collection, accepts DCPA.
Additional guidance from the EPA regarding the agency’s collection of existing DCPA stock is expected. Watch for updates.
- Do I need to keep any records regarding my possession of DCPA?
- The EPA does not classify DCPA products as restricted-use products (RUP), so a record-keeping requirement does not exist for non-agricultural uses. Regarding agricultural use, the EPA requires recordkeeping for two years to adhere to worker protection standards. For now, however, the Pesticide Information Office advises maintaining any existing records related to any DCPA use.
Conclusion
The EPA has made truly generational changes here in the last few years related to pesticides. There are new requirements for pesticide applicators and how they are trained. You will all be seeing LOTS of those changes in the near future, stay tuned. They are altering the registration process to include endangered species earlier in the process and massive changes to how pesticide labels handle endangered species. Did you break your PULA? Can you find your PULA? We have Spanish language requirements on labels and labels are possibly moving online. There is a LOT happening.
Sorry for this history lesson, but context was needed for just how historic this weeks ruling was. Now you know about that ruling and recognize there are lots of changes coming in the future as well. So, Can the EPA Ban Pesticides? Yes, they can, they just did, and we will see more changes in the future.
Click To Subscribe
3
