{"id":34737,"date":"2024-03-11T00:01:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-11T04:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=34737"},"modified":"2024-03-11T10:01:09","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T14:01:09","slug":"take-action-chemical-mixture-issues-in-pesticide-products-elevated-by-the-epa-inspector-general","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2024\/03\/take-action-chemical-mixture-issues-in-pesticide-products-elevated-by-the-epa-inspector-general\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Action: Chemical Mixture Issues in Pesticide Products Elevated by the EPA Inspector General"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, March 11, 2024) Inside a recent disagreement between the Office of the Inspector (OIG) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) on the agency\u2019s review of pet flea and tick collars\u2014leading to thousands of deaths and poisonings\u2014is a basic question of the adequacy of pesticide regulation. The disagreement is over the cause of 105,354 incident reports, including 3,000 pet deaths and nearly 900 reports of human injury, and the February 2025\u00a0OIG report\u2019s<\/a> conclusion that \u201c[EPA] has not provided assurance that they can be used without posing unreasonable adverse effects to the environment, including pets.” While the disagreement focuses on a number of EPA process failures, Beyond Pesticides urges that the findings advance the need for the agency to address a key element of chemical mixtures in pesticide products not currently evaluated, potential synergistic effects\u2014the increased toxic potency created by pesticide and chemical combinations not captured by assessing product ingredients individually.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Key to the dispute is what many see as a foundational failure of EPA to evaluate the effect of pesticide mixtures and full formulations of pesticide end products, a longstanding criticism of the agency\u2019s pesticide registration process, which focuses on pesticide products\u2019 active ingredients. The manufacturer identifies the active ingredient as the compound in the product formulation that kills the target pest\u2014even though the other ingredients (called inerts) may be toxic. The concern stems from two scenarios present with the Seresto collar in which EPA is not evaluating (i) the mixture of chemicals in the product purchased by consumers, including the so-called inert ingredients<\/a> (other chemical agents to increase performance, such as adjuvants, surfactants, solvents, carriers, etc.) and contaminants (both not disclosed on the product label); and (ii) the effect of the mixture of two or more active ingredients in the pesticide product, which may increase the product\u2019s overall toxicity.<\/p>\r\n

In the case of the Seresto flea and tick collar, there is concern that EPA missed the true toxicity of the product by not fully evaluating whether there is a synergistic effect that increases the product\u2019s overall toxic effect. Seresto contains two active insecticide ingredients\u2014the neurotoxic insecticide\u202fflumethrin<\/a>, and the notorious neonicotinoid\u202fimidacloprid<\/a>\u00a0with adverse effects on the endocrine system and environment.<\/p>\r\n

As Beyond Pesticides pointed out in 2021, when the pet poisonings and deaths made headlines, a\u202f2012 study<\/a>\u202ffound that flumethrin and imidacloprid have a synergistic effect in attacking fleas. However, EPA dismissed or ignored this science,\u202fstating in a 2016\u202fEPA bulletin<\/a>, \u201cThe risk of the combination of the two active ingredients, flumethrin and imidacloprid, was not assessed because the two chemicals act in completely different ways.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Synergistic effects have been widely reported. For example, Beyond Pesticides has reported that researchers found elevated neurotoxic effects from exposure to the glyphosate\/Roundup<\/a> formulation\u00a0with the so-called inert ingredient polyethoxylated tallowamine (POEAs),\u00a0also shown to kill human cells<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

>>Tell EPA to start protecting people and pets from pesticide poisoning.<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Despite all the concerns, at the time the poisoning and deaths of pets made headlines in 2021, the agency\u00a0defended the product’s registration<\/a>, telling the media that, despite these incidents, EPA deemed Seresto collars \u201c’eligible for continued registration’ based on best available science, including incident data…\u00a0No pesticide is completely without harm, but EPA ensures that there are measures on the product label that reduce risk.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Overall, the OIG highlights known shortcomings\u00a0in EPA’s pesticide registration program,\u00a0including (but not limited to):\u00a0<\/p>\r\n