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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a January 27th Project Notification titled:
EPA's Adherence to Pesticide Registration Risk Assessment Regulations, Policies and Procedures
See Project No. OA&E-FY20-0095.
The OIG memorandum is transmitted from Jeffrey Harris, OIG Director, Toxics, Chemical Management and Pollution Prevention Directorate, Office of Audit and Evaluation to Alexandria Dapolito Dunn, EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
OIG states that it will undertake fieldwork on an audit regarding the above subject matter. The audit’s objective is stated to be EPA’s adherence to applicable regulations, policies and procedures in assessing risks to human health and the environment in the pesticide registration process.
Pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) EPA regulates the distribution, sale, and use of pesticides. All pesticides distributed or sold in the United States must be registered (i.e., licensed) by EPA. Before EPA may register a pesticide under FIFRA, the applicant must show, among other things, that using the pesticide according to specifications will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment.
The process used for evaluating potential health and ecological effects of pesticides is called risk assessment. EPA develops risk assessments that evaluate the potential for:
- Harm to humans, wildlife, fish and plants, including endangered species and non-target organisms
- Contamination of surface water or groundwater from leeching, runoff, and spray draft
OIG notes in its January 27th Project Notification that the anticipated benefits of the audit will include:
. . . determining whether the EPA has adequate controls to address human health and environmental risks prior to pesticide product registration.
A copy of the Project Notification can be downloaded here.
