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PA AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN EPA AND CHLORPYRIFOS PESTICIDE REGISTRANTS

Release Date: 06/06/97
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EPA has been working closely with registrants of the pesticide chlorpyrifos (common trade name, Dursban) on details of a voluntary agreement to reduce household exposure to this product. The agreement, reached in January, is expected to reduce exposure of chlorpyrifos in the home, especially to children. It came after EPA expressed concerns about the potential health effects of chlorpyrifos following a formal documented review of more than 200 alleged health effects-related incidents from exposure to this pesticide in homes. The incidents, which span about a decade, were submitted to EPA in late l994 by DowElanco of Indianapolis, Ind., the principle manufacturer and registrant of chlorpyrifos in the United States. Because of these incidents, EPA sought changes to some of the use patterns of this pesticide. Chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used pesticides in the United States and the world for control of insects in and around the home, including termite use. It is also used in agriculture. There are 972 different chlorpyrifos products currently registered by EPA.

Under terms of the agreement, a number of actions will take place to reduce residential exposure to chlorpyrifos.

•All residential total-release fogger and broadcast product uses will be canceled,
•All direct-application pet products including sprays, shampoos, and dips (pet collars are not included) will be deleted, and
•Use in plant additive products (i.e., highly concentrated chlorpyrifos solutions) will be canceled.
•Registrants will work with EPA to develop policies for a number of areas such as reducing exposure by eliminating concentrates which require mixing, limiting household consumer use to ready-to-use products, prohibiting use in inappropriate areas (toys, drapes, furniture), requiring pest control operators to clean up spills and misapplications, requiring more training of pest control operators and more supervision during application, establishing specific protection measures for humans and pets during and immediately after application, and revising labels to include appropriate intervals between treatment (to replace “use as necessary,” currently on some labels, for example).
•The agreement also calls for the registrants to establish a Blue Ribbon Panel, with input from the Agency, that will provide scientific direction for designing an epidemiology study on potential chronic and neurological effects of chlorpyrifos use (the panel of nine members has been established and will hold its first meeting in Washington late in July).

•Finally, the agreement calls for the continued funding of the Poison Control Center Stewardship Project at the University of Minnesota which monitors chlorpyrifos-related incidents throughout the United States.

The agreement reached by DowElanco and EPA includes all manufacturers and formulators of chlorpyrifos. Because of the large numbers of products involved and the time required for the changes in the technical labels to affect the end use products, the label changes on all affected chlorpyrifos products will be introduced into the market place over a period of time. However, household chlorpyrifos products with new labels should begin to appear on shelves in l998. All of the principle registrants who control the technical products have submitted revised labels. In the meantime, consumers who have specific questions about proper use may call the National Pesticide Telecommunications Network at 800-858-7378. Adverse effects of chlorpyrifos are expected to occur only at levels higher than exposure that occur with approved label uses. Excessive exposure as a result of accidental poisoning, misuse or misapplication may result in symptoms which include headache, dizziness, loss of coordination, muscle twitching, tremors, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, general weakness, blurred vision, excessive perspiration and salivation. Although EPA’s immediate focus has been on chlorpyrifos because of its extensive use around the home, the Agency will explore label changes for other indoor residential products.


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