EPA nanomaterial disclosure policy submitted to OMB for review
Inside Washington's Inside the EPA newsletter carries an article regarding the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention submitting for review a notice outlining EPA's intention to use its existing regulatory authority under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to require that manufacturers of pesticides provide more information to EPA about their use of nanoscale materials in their products.
This proposed notice was discussed at a presentation by William Jordan of EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to the Pesticide Programs Dialogue Committee and also in a recent GAO report . The notice will also include OPP's definition of nanomaterials as ingredients containing particles between 1 and 100 nanometers in size.
During his presentation, Mr. Jordan noted that this new policy resulted from concerns expressed by the public about the potential toxic effects of nanoscale materials on the environment and humans. Industry groups and pesticide manufacturers also expressed their concern that the proposed rule could taint all nanomaterials as "adverse" and affect potential future sales of pesticides that include nanomaterials.
The text of the notice is not available from OMB's Reginfo.gov site. When it does appear in the Federal Register following OMB's review, it will be discussed and reviewed here.
