Department of Pesticide Regulation Update of Regulatory Issues

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Department of Pesticide Regulation Update of
Regulatory Issues

• California Association of Standards
  Agricultural Professionals Conference
• Charles M. Andrews
• Associate Director
• Pesticide Programs Division
• January 17, 2009

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Overview of Discussion

• Pesticide Issues in California
• Fumigants and Worker Safety
• Surface Water Contaminants
• Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
• Pesticide Toxicity to Bees
• Overview of Reevaluation
• What is reevaluation
• When does DPR initiate a reevaluation?
• Possible Outcomes of a Reevaluation

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Overview of Discussion - continued

• Current Pesticides in Reevaluation
• Surface water contaminants
• Fumigants
• Pesticides Under Investigation
• Regulations/Mitigation Under Development
• VOC III
• Notification and Early Entry
• MITC (Metam Sodium)

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Pesticide Issues in California

• Fumigants and Worker Safety
• MITC Mitigation
• Iodomethane Risk Assessment and Registration
  Decision
• Chloropicrin Under Consideration as a Toxic Air
  Contaminant
• Notification and Early Entry Regulations

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Pesticide Issues in California

• Iodomethane Risk Assessment and Registration
  Decision
• Risk assessment under development
• Registration decision projected in 4th quarter of
  2009
• Highly toxic and may require additional
  mitigation similar to methyl bromide
• Legislative interest to register products

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Pesticide Issues in California

• Chloropicrin Under Consideration as a Toxic Air
  Contaminant
• Risk assessment under development
• Public Hearing scheduled this Winter
• Highly toxic and may require additional
  mitigation

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Pesticide Issues in California

• Surface Water Contaminants
• Chlorpyrifos
• Diazinon
• Pyrethroids
• Fipronil
• Volatile Organic Compounds
• Soil fumigants
• Emulsifiable concentrate formulated products

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Pesticide Issues in California

• Pesticide Toxicity to Honey Bees
• Imidacloprid
• Neonicotinoids

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Pesticide Issues in California

• How do we address these issues?
• Adopt known mitigation approaches
• Develop new approaches to mitigate the problem
• Request additional data to evaluate problem and
  find solutions (e.g., Reevaluation)

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What is Reevaluation?

• Reevaluation is a tool DPR utilizes to require
  registrants to submit information/data
• Determine the nature/extent of a hazard
• Mitigate hazards

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When does DPR initiate a reevaluation?

• Initiation of a Reevaluation
• Investigate all information indicating that a
  pesticide may have caused or is likely to
  cause an adverse effect.
• Information may come from numerous sources.
• If DPR determines that a pesticide has caused
  or is likely to cause a significant adverse
  effect, reevaluation is initiated.

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Reevaluation

• DPR may require registrants to provide data.
• DPR may require registrants to develop mitigation
  measures.
• Status of reevaluation included in semi-annual
  report.
• DPR may cancel products due to registrants
  failure to provide data.

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Possible Reevaluation Outcomes

• No further mitigation measures needed.
• Mitigation measures needed
• Regulation
• Permit Conditions
• Label Amendments
• Adverse effect cannot be mitigated pesticide
  product(s) must be canceled.

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Chlorpyrifos and Diazinon Reevaluations

• Initiated based on water quality monitoring data
  showing exceedances (Total Maximum Daily Load).
• Chlorpyrifos labeling established nationally to
  mitigate off-site movement. Monitoring being
  conducted in the Delta and San Joaquin
  watersheds.
• Diazinon supplemental labeling established in
  California to mitigate off-site movement.
  Monitoring being conducted for dormant spray
  season.

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Pyrethroid Reevaluation

• Pyrethroids, a class of insecticides, widely used
  in both agricultural and urban settings.
• In August 2006, DPR placed over 600 products
  containing at least one of 20 different
  pyrethroid active ingredients into reevaluation.
• Based on toxicity to sediment dwelling organisms
  in agricultural and urban waterways.

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Pyrethroid Reevaluation

• Class Grouping
• Group I first generation photosensitive
  pyrethroids, typically used indoors and around
  residential areas.
• Group II Group III second generation
  environmentally persistent pyrethroids widely
  used in urban and agricultural settings.

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Pyrethroid Reevaluation

• Data Requirements
• Develop a sediment analytical method.
• Environmental fate studies(Groups I, III).
• Sediment acute and chronic toxicity(Groups II,
  III).
• Soil metabolism studies(Groups I, II, III).
• Studies to characterize off-site movement(Group
  III).

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Soil Fumigant Reevaluation

• Many pesticide active and inert ingredients are
  Volatile organic compounds or VOCs.
• VOCs and nitrogen oxides react with sunlight to
  form ozone, a major air pollutant.
• State Implementation Plan (SIP) to achieve ozone
  standard requires DPR to
• Develop and maintain an inventory to track
  pesticide VOC emissions from agricultural and
  structural applications
• Implement regulations by 1/26/08 to achieve 20
  reduction from 1991 in five nonattainment areas

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Method to estimate pesticide VOC emissions

• VOC emissions from non-fumigant pesticides are
  based on worst-case lab data or TGA data
  (thermogravimetric analysis data).
• Emission of liquid products amount of product x
  emission potential (VOC content)
• Historically, VOC emissions from fumigants
  assumed to be 100 of applied fumigant.

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Method to estimate fumigant VOC emissions

• January 2008, DPR adopted regulations assigning
  estimated VOC emission to specific fumigant
  application methods.
• DPR needs field monitoring data to confirm
  fumigant VOC emissions
• DPR is requiring data to better estimate
  emissions

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Pesticides Under Investigation Fipronil

• Preliminary studies show potential for water
  quality concerns based on the active ingredient
  and its breakdown products.
• The product is highly toxic to all aquatic life.
• The product and its metabolites are very stable.
• These characteristics are shared by older active
  ingredients no longer in use.

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Pesticides Under Investigation Imidacloprid

• DPR received an adverse effects disclosure
  regarding the active ingredient imidacloprid.
• DPRs evaluation of the data noted several
  critical findings
• Imidacloprid is toxic to honey bees
• High levels of imidacloprid in leaves and
  blossoms of treated plants
• Increases in residue levels over time.

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Pesticides Under Investigation Imidacloprid

• Residues in some plants measured higher than 4
  parts per million (ppm).
• After application, remained stable in some cases
  for more than 500 days after treatment.
• DPR estimates the lethal concentration of
  imidacloprid needed to kill 50 percent of a test
  population (LC50) of honey bees is 185 ppb.

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Pesticides Under Investigation Imidacloprid

• Imidacloprid and other similar classes of
  pesticides are under investigation to determine
  the impacts on honey bees
• Coordinating our investigation with U.S. EPA
• Minimal data to determine impacts on various crops

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Regulations Under Development VOC Regulations

• DPR proposing regulations to change the benchmark
  for regulating VOC emissions in the San Joaquin
  Valley
• Changes from 20 to 12 to be consistent with the
  1994 SIP
• Postpones the allowance system to regulate VOC
  emissions in all non-attainment areas but Ventura
  

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Proposed SIP Changes in the San Joaquin Valley

• Changes from 20 to 12 to be consistent with the
  1994 SIP
• Establishes a cap of 18.1 tons per day
• Commitment to use current technology for
  estimating future emission inventories
• Requires DPR to place restrictions on fumigants
  and non-fumigants to meet the 18.1 tons per day
  cap

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Regulations Under Development Notification and
Early Entry

• Performance-based regulation
• Grower and contractor responsible for ensuring
  workers are notified
• Flexibility for pest control operator to schedule
  and make an application
• Grower must manage property to ensure workers
  dont enter treated field

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Regulations Under Development Notification and
Early Entry

• Established requirements for notification after
  an application has been completed
• Minor changes to application-specific information
  requirement
• Adds early entry provisions that EPA established
  (no contact, limited contact provisions)
• Clarifies training and information that must be
  provided to early entry workers

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Mitigation Under Development

• MITC mitigation under development to address
  off-site exposures to bystanders
• Buffer zones developed for sprinkler, shank,
  drip, flood, rototiller, and dazomet applications
• Working with U.S. EPA on proposal
• Proposal should be available for comment in
  Winter 2009

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Challenges

• Development of mitigation measures to address
  fumigants, VOCs, and pollutants in surface water
  are new challenges that are more complex than
  traditional mitigation measures
• Modeling and other scientific tools are being
  used to develop a program

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Challenges and Partnerships

• We are challenged with developing and
  demonstrating effective mitigation measures.
• Critical to coordinate with other agencies and
  county agricultural commissioners
• Commissioner staff have the knowledge and
  experience to assist DPR in solving these problems

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Questions?

• Chuck Andrews, Associate Director
• ltcandrews_at_cdpr.ca.govgt
• CDPR Web site
• ltwww.cdpr.ca.govgt