California Agency Releases Roadmap for Phaseout of High-Risk Pesticides

The California Department of Pesticides Regulation (DPR) recently released a “roadmap” for the state to fulfill two key goals by 2050: transition to sustainable pesticide management (SPM) and elimination of the use of “high-risk” pesticides. While the roadmap is aspirational and does not provide specific rules at this time, the roadmap goals were developed by a multiagency workgroup in coordination with various stakeholders. It is expected that proposed rules will be forthcoming from DPR and other state agencies as these agencies move toward achieving the roadmap goals.

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Environmental Protection Agency Takes Action to End All On-Food Use of Conventional Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) has issued a prepublication rule that will revoke all on-food tolerances for the conventional pesticide called chlorpyrifos and has announced that it will also issue a Notice of Intent to Cancel all food uses for the pesticide under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). EPA stated that “taking into consideration the currently available information and the currently registered uses of chlorpyrifos, EPA cannot make a safety finding to support leaving the current tolerances for residues of chlorpyrifos in place” consistent with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (more…)