Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
passage came not from environmentalists, but primarily from users and manu-
facturers. FIFRA required that pesticides be registered by the Secretary of Ag-
riculture before their sale or distribution in interstate or foreign commerce.
However, the intrastate sales and distribution were left to the states to the
regulate. In addition, FIFRA required specific label and package information
to be included with each pesticide sold and also expanded the regulation of
pesticide law to cover rodenticides and herbicides that were not covered under
the Insecticide Act of 1910.
Despite the enhanced powers of the U.S. Department Agriculture
(USDA), FIFRA (1947) remained fundamentally a labeling statute.
In 1964, FIFRA was amended to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to
deny or cancel a registration. In addition, the regulation also authorized the
Secretary to suspend a registration immediately if necessary to prevent an
imminent hazard to the public.
In 1954, Congress enacted the Miller Amendment to the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which required that a maximum acceptable
level (tolerance) be established for pesticide residues in foods and animal feed
(for example, 10.0 ppm carbaryl in lettuce, or 1.0 ppm ethyl parathion on
string beans). In 1958, congress enacted the Food Additives Amendment to
FFDCA, which regulated pesticide residues in processed foods.
On December 2, 1970, President Nixon created the EPA. Under the
President's reorganization plan the EPA assumed the pesticide regulatory
functions of the USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under
FIFRA and the FFDCA.
In 1972, FIFRA was revised. The Federal Environmental Pesticide
Control Act (FEPCA), commonly referred to as FIFRA Amended 1972, was
subsequently revised in 1975, 1978, 1980, 1984, and 1988. The new FIFRA
regulates the use of pesticides to protect people and the environment and
extends federal pesticide regulation to all pesticides, including those distributed
or used within a single state. The eight basic provisions of the new FIFRA
are as follows:
1.
All pesticides must be registered by the EPA.
2.
For a product to be registered, the manufacturer is required to provide
scientific evidence that the product, when used as directed, (a) will
effectively control the pests listed on the label, (b) will not injure
humans, crops, livestock, wildlife, or damage the environment, and
(c) will not result in illegal residues in food or feed.
3.
All pesticides will be classified into general use or restricted use cate-
gories.
