{"id":29899,"date":"2021-09-22T00:01:22","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T04:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=29899"},"modified":"2021-09-21T17:16:47","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T21:16:47","slug":"epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/","title":{"rendered":"EPA Urged to Stop Use of Misbranded “Minimum Risk” Pesticides, Step Up Oversight and Enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, September 22, 2021) Health and environmental organizations are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state pesticide regulators to immediately stop the use and sale of dangerous and misbranded Eco-MIGHT<\/a> and W.O.W. (Whack Out Weeds!)<\/a> products, falsely labeled as 25(b) minimum risk. Recent laboratory testing by the state of California found the presence of hazardous pesticides, including glyphosate<\/a>, bifenthrin<\/a>, permethrin<\/a>, cypermethrin<\/a>, and carbaryl<\/a> in these products. \u201cFrom organic farmers to municipal landscapers and home gardeners, consumers employing minimum risk products are working intentionally to avoid the dangers associated with toxic pesticide exposure,\u201d said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. \u201cIt is critical that EPA and state regulators coordinate to ensure the integrity of the minimum risk program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coordination is critical yet reports indicate that EPA is falling down on the job. The issue first came to light in late July, when the California Department of Food and Agriculture\u2019s (CDFA) State Organic Program issued a Stop Use Notice<\/a> to farmers alerting them to adultered Eco-MIGHT and W.O.W products. The products make a range of claims, marketed as \u201corganic,\u201d \u201cnatural,\u201d \u201cglyphosate-free,\u201d and \u201cnon-toxic and safe.\u201d As CDFA Secretary Karen Ross noted, \u201cIt is imperative that we alert California organic growers that these EcoMIGHT products contain substances that are prohibited in organic production, in order to preserve the integrity of the California organic label and to protect our growers,\u201d said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross.<\/p>\n

At the same time as CFDA\u2019s Stop Use Notice, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (the state\u2019s primary enforcement agent for pesticides) sent a warning letter to EcoMIGHT LLC<\/a>, the parent company that produces both of the products in question, alerting them that they may be in violation of state law. EPA sent a similar advisory letter to the company<\/a> indicating that it may be in violation of the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by misbranding, selling an unregistered pesticide (given the presence of ingredients disallowed in 25(b) minimum risk products), and false and misleading label statements. \u00a0<\/p>\n

While those actions do show a degree of coordination to protect California growers and consumers, these warnings are not reaching other state regulatory agencies. Emails forwarded to Beyond Pesticides from Connecticut advocate Mary Wilson of the group Protect Our Pollinators<\/a>, sent in mid-September, questioned state regulators on the status of the product, which had been registered under state law as of July 19, according to a company press release.<\/a> \u00a0In that press release, EcoMIGHT LLC indicates that registration of its product helps the state\u2019s Governor, Ned Lamont, \u201cfulfill his campaign promise\u201d to eliminate toxic pesticides. Ms. Wilson and her organization were told that the state\u2019s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) was not aware of California\u2019s concerns over adulteration until they had sent the email. DEEP indicated that it is looking into the advertising statements mentioning the Governor, and that EPA Region 1 is now coordinating with EPA Region 9 regarding the issue and will provide guidance to the state if the adulteration is confirmed.<\/p>\n

However, the lack of swift action has advocates concerned that DEEP is being saddled with the consequences of EPA\u2019s poor track record for oversight and enforcement. \u201cWe in Connecticut\u00a0are not satisfied when mislabeled and potentially\u00a0dangerous products are sold in our state,\u201d Ms. Wilson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen one state issues a stop use order on a misbranded product, the problem is not siloed in that state,\u201d said Mr. Feldman of Beyond Pesticides. \u201cIt is not enough to simply send a letter to the manufacturer. EPA must establish a process to alert all state pesticide regulatory agencies of enforcement actions that could affect the status of organic farmer certifications, consumer health, and environmental protection in their state.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to coordination, advocates urge increased EPA accountability over minimum risk products, to ensure that these products live up to their namesake. Minimum risk products are limited to a specific list of ingredients<\/a>, and all ingredients, including inert ingredients<\/a>, are required to be listed on the label. \u00a0<\/p>\n

While this finding does damage the minimum risk designation, it speaks to a broader problem of EPA failing to provide oversight to manufacturers over pesticide contamination and adulteration. Late last year, independent testing by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) found that mosquito pesticides were being tainted with highly hazardous PFAS<\/a> (per and polyfluorinated alykyl substances) \u2018forever chemicals.\u2019 Although the state of Massachusetts stopped using the initially tested product, Anvil 10+10, PEER determined that localities in at least 25 states<\/a> have used Anvil 10+10 as part of their mosquito spray program. While EPA continues to look into the problem, further testing has shown the issue to be much more widespread. In Maryland, testing from PEER and Maryland Pesticide Education Network found significant levels of PFAS in Permanone 30-30<\/a>, a mosquito adulticide regularly used by the Maryland Department of Agriculture in their mosquito control program.<\/p>\n

The recent history of contamination in both minimum risk and registered pesticides bodes very poorly for a pesticide office already on its heels from in-depth reporting about its corruption.<\/a> To restore public trust, the agency must step up enforcement and coordination, and ensure, when problems spring up in one location, swift action is taken to protect farmers and consumers throughout the United States.<\/p>\n

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.<\/em><\/p>\n

Source: California Department of Food and Agriculture,<\/a> California Department of Pesticide Regulation<\/a>, EPA<\/a>, Personal communication with the author and Mary Wilson of Protect Our Pollinators<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides, September 22, 2021) Health and environmental organizations are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state pesticide regulators to immediately stop the use and sale of dangerous and misbranded Eco-MIGHT and W.O.W. (Whack Out Weeds!) products, falsely labeled as 25(b) minimum risk. Recent laboratory testing by the state of California found the presence of hazardous pesticides, including glyphosate, bifenthrin, permethrin, cypermethrin, and carbaryl in these products. \u201cFrom organic farmers to municipal landscapers and home gardeners, consumers employing minimum risk products are working intentionally to avoid the dangers associated with toxic pesticide exposure,\u201d said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. \u201cIt is critical that EPA and state regulators coordinate to ensure the integrity of the minimum risk program.\u201d Coordination is critical yet reports indicate that EPA is falling down on the job. The issue first came to light in late July, when the California Department of Food and Agriculture\u2019s (CDFA) State Organic Program issued a Stop Use Notice to farmers alerting them to adultered Eco-MIGHT and W.O.W products. The products make a range of claims, marketed as \u201corganic,\u201d \u201cnatural,\u201d \u201cglyphosate-free,\u201d and \u201cnon-toxic and safe.\u201d As CDFA Secretary Karen Ross noted, \u201cIt is imperative that we alert California […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,226,20,51,42,350,354,41,38,515,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alternativesorganics","category-bifenthrin","category-california","category-carbaryl","category-connecticut","category-contamination-2","category-environmental-protection-agency-epa","category-glyphosate","category-permethrin","category-pfas","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nEPA Urged to Stop Use of Misbranded "Minimum Risk" Pesticides, Step Up Oversight and Enforcement - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EPA Urged to Stop Use of Misbranded "Minimum Risk" Pesticides, Step Up Oversight and Enforcement - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, September 22, 2021) Health and environmental organizations are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state pesticide regulators to immediately stop the use and sale of dangerous and misbranded Eco-MIGHT and W.O.W. 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(Whack Out Weeds!) products, falsely labeled as 25(b) minimum risk. Recent laboratory testing by the state of California found the presence of hazardous pesticides, including glyphosate, bifenthrin, permethrin, cypermethrin, and carbaryl in these products. \u201cFrom organic farmers to municipal landscapers and home gardeners, consumers employing minimum risk products are working intentionally to avoid the dangers associated with toxic pesticide exposure,\u201d said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. \u201cIt is critical that EPA and state regulators coordinate to ensure the integrity of the minimum risk program.\u201d Coordination is critical yet reports indicate that EPA is falling down on the job. The issue first came to light in late July, when the California Department of Food and Agriculture\u2019s (CDFA) State Organic Program issued a Stop Use Notice to farmers alerting them to adultered Eco-MIGHT and W.O.W products. The products make a range of claims, marketed as \u201corganic,\u201d \u201cnatural,\u201d \u201cglyphosate-free,\u201d and \u201cnon-toxic and safe.\u201d As CDFA Secretary Karen Ross noted, \u201cIt is imperative that we alert California […]","og_url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/","og_site_name":"Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/beyondpesticides\/","article_published_time":"2021-09-22T04:01:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":320,"url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Environmental_Protection_Agency_building_15011151177-e1632241505451.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beyond Pesticides","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_site":"@ByondPesticides","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beyond Pesticides","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/"},"author":{"name":"Beyond Pesticides","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#\/schema\/person\/1b5c0a0981b549cc5b628770073031f4"},"headline":"EPA Urged to Stop Use of Misbranded “Minimum Risk” Pesticides, Step Up Oversight and Enforcement","datePublished":"2021-09-22T04:01:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/"},"wordCount":928,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Environmental_Protection_Agency_building_15011151177-e1632241505451.jpg","articleSection":["Alternatives\/Organics","Bifenthrin","California","Carbaryl","Connecticut","contamination","Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)","Glyphosate","Permethrin","PFAS"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/","url":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2021\/09\/epa-urged-to-stop-use-of-misbranded-minimum-risk-pesticides-step-up-oversight-and-enforcement\/","name":"EPA Urged to Stop Use of Misbranded \"Minimum Risk\" Pesticides, Step Up Oversight and Enforcement - 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