US EPA announces new, earlier protections for people from pesticide spray drift

Date:07-16-2024

On July 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is putting protections in place sooner for farmworkers, their families, and the general public near where pesticides are applied. EPA will now assess the potential for people to be exposed to a pesticide when it drifts away from where it is applied earlier in the agency’s review process. This applies to new active ingredient pesticide registrations and new use decisions. This updated process will protect people from pesticide spray drift 15 years sooner in the review process for new pesticides than has historically occurred.

During and after application, pesticides can drift to unintended areas like residential or recreational areas where people can get it on their skin or eyes, causing different symptoms depending on the pesticide. By assessing the amount of a pesticide that drifts beyond its intended target, EPA can identify measures that will protect people from unintended pesticide exposure. This change is also consistent with the agency’s commitment to address environmental justice concerns from pesticide use in and around farm communities and to comply with the Endangered Species Act, where EPA is working to improve how it evaluates risk to and protects endangered species.

″People who live or work near farms can be unintentionally exposed to pesticides, and it’s our job to do as much as possible to prevent that from happening and to protect their health,″ said Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. ″Our new policy will ensure that vital public health protections are in place when a pesticide is initially approved – so people don’t have to wait years for the protections they deserve and need.″

Historically, EPA has only conducted a chemical specific assessment of the potential for people to be exposed to pesticide ‘spray drift’ during registration review, which happen every 15 years after a pesticide is approved to ensure that it can carry out its intended functions without creating unreasonable adverse effects to human health and the environment. Starting now, the agency will also complete a chemical specific spray drift analysis during the initial registration process or the review process for new and amended uses of existing products, to ensure that any needed protections are put in place from the beginning of the pesticide’s use, rather than delaying them for 15 years. This will also ensure both new and old pesticide registrations are held to the same standard.

EPA will use chemical specific human health spray drift analyses to determine specific label instructions to protect against and reduce the occurrence of spray drift, such as droplet sizes and buffer distances, for each pesticide and use. Additionally, if EPA identifies spray drift risks for people living or working nearby or non-target species, the agency will protect against those risks.

As part of this action, going forward EPA will now include a chemical specific human health spray drift analysis for:

• New active ingredients: any new submissions for domestic uses of new active ingredients.

• New uses and amended uses: any new use and amended use registration submissions where that active ingredient has previously received a chemical specific spray drift analysis.

• Currently pending registrations: registration actions that are currently under review with the agency, when possible.

To read more about how the agency will implement this change, see the document entitled Implementing Chemical Specific Human Health Spray Drift Analysis into Pesticide Registration Actions, July 2024. Information on the methodology for conducting human health quantitative spray drift analysis can be found in the document entitled Residential Exposure Assessment Standard Operating Procedures Addenda 1: Consideration of Spray Drift. These documents can be found at docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2013-0676 at the Regulations.gov page.