66 FR 85 pgs. 21964-21967 - Ethyl Parathion; Receipt of Request For Registration Cancellations andAmendments
Type: NOTICEVolume: 66Number: 85Pages: 21964 - 21967
Docket number: [OPP-34171B; FRL-6770-9]
FR document: [FR Doc. 01-10436 Filed 5-1-00; 8:45 am]
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-34171B; FRL-6770-9]
Ethyl Parathion; Receipt of Request For Registration Cancellations andAmendments
AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY:
In accordance with section 6(f)(1) of the Federal Insecticide,Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, EPA is issuing a notice of receipt ofrequest by a number of registrants, including Cheminova, Inc. and Cheminova A/S, for thefollowing actions: to immediately cancel the registrations for their manufacturing use productscontaining O, O-Diethyl-O-p-nitrophenyl thiophosphate (ethyl parathion), to immediately cancelthe use on corn grown for seed by amending their ethyl parathion end-use product registrations;and to cancel all of their ethyl parathion end-use products effective as of December 31, 2002.EPA will decide whether to approve the requests after consideration of public comment.
DATE:
Comments on the requested cancellation of product and useregistrations must be submitted to the address provided below by June 1, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Parsons,Special Review and Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs,Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;telephone number: (703) 305-5776; fax number: (703) 308-7042; e-mail address:parsons.laura@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. Does this Action Apply to Me?
This action is directed to the public in general. Although this action may be of particularinterest to persons who produce or use pesticides, the Agency has not attempted to describe allthe specific entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any questions regarding theinformation in this notice, consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT .
B. How Can I Get Additional Information, Including Copies of this Document and OtherRelated Documents?
1. Electronically . You may obtain electronic copies of this document, andcertain other related documents that might be available electronically, from the EPA InternetHome Page at http://www.epa.gov/. To access this document, on the Home Page select"Laws and Regulations," "Regulations and Proposed Rules" andthen look up the entry for this document under the FederalRegister -Environmental Documents. You can also go directly to the Federal Register listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/. To access informationabout the risk assessment for ethyl parathion, go to the Home Page for the Office of PesticidePrograms or go directly http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/ethylparathion.htm.
2. In person . The Agency has established an official record for this action under docket control number OPP-34171B. The official record consists of the documentsspecifically referenced in this action, any public comments received during an applicable commentperiod, and other information related to this action, including any information claimed asConfidential Business Information (CBI). This official record includes the documents that arephysically located in the docket, as well as the documents that are referenced in those documents.The public version of the official record does not include any information claimed as CBI. Thepublic version of the official record, which includes printed, paper versions of any electroniccomments submitted during an applicable comment period, is available for inspection in the PublicInformation and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall #2, 1921Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday,excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB telephone number is (703) 305-5805.
C. How and to Whom Do I Submit Comments?
You may submit comments through the mail, in person, or electronically. To ensure properreceipt by EPA, it is imperative that you identify docket control number OPP-34171B in thesubject line on the first page of your response.
1. By mail . Submit your comments to: Public Information and RecordsIntegrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources and Services Division (7502C), Office ofPesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.,Washington, DC 20460.
2. In person or by courier . Deliver your comments to: Public Informationand Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB), Information Resources and Services Division (7502C),Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. 119, Crystal Mall#2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA. The PIRIB is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The PIRIB telephone number is (703)305-5805.
3. Electronically . You may submit your comments electronically by e-mail to:opp-docket@epa.gov, or you can submit a computer disk as described above. Do not submit anyinformation electronically that you consider to be CBI. Avoid the use of special characters andany form of encryption. Electronic submissions will be accepted in WordPerfect 6.1/8.0 or ASCIIfile format. All comments in electronic form must be identified by docket control number OPP-34171B. Electronic comments may also be filed online at many Federal Depository Libraries.
D. How Should I Handle CBI that I Want to Submit to the Agency?
Do not submit any information electronically that you consider to be CBI. You may claiminformation that you submit to EPA in response to this document as CBI by marking any part orall of that information as CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordancewith procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. In addition to one complete version of the commentthat includes any information claimed as CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain theinformation claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public version of the officialrecord. Information not marked confidential will be included in the public version of the officialrecord without prior notice. If you have any questions about CBI or the procedures for claimingCBI, please consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONCONTACT .
E. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your comments:
1. Explain your views as clearly as possible.
2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used that support your views.
4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you arrived at the estimate that youprovide.
5. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns.
6. Offer alternative ways to improve the notice or collection activity.
7. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline in this notice.
8. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket control number assignedto this action in the subject line on the first page of your response. You may also provide thename, date, and Federal Register citation.
II. Registrants Request to Cancel Product and Use Registrations
A. Background Information
Ethyl parathion is an organophosphate insecticide/miticide currently registered for use onalfalfa, barley, corn, cotton, canola, sorghum, soybean, sunflower, and wheat crops. In 1991,EPA and the registrants reached an agreement that limited ethyl parathion use to these ninecurrent crop sites, and restricted application and post-application practices to mitigate extremeacute toxicity risks to workers. As a result, to protect workers, ethyl parathion may only behandled by trained, certified applicators using closed mixing and loading systems, may only beapplied aerially, and crops treated with the pesticide may only be harvested mechanically.
Even with the post 1991 use restrictions, EPA's revised risk assessment completed inSeptember, 1999 showed high levels of worker and ecological risk from legal uses of ethyl parathion. There were also several unfulfilled data requirements. After viewing the revised riskassessment and outstanding data requirements, Cheminova, Inc. and Cheminova, A/S and EPAsigned a memorandum of agreement (MOA) effective October 10, 2000. In accordance with thisMOA, Cheminova, Inc. and Cheminova, A/S have requested to amend their end-use productsregistrations to immediately terminate the use on corn grown for seed which can result in higherexposures to workers and have requested voluntary cancellation of all their ethyl parathionregistrations. Some other companies holding registrations for ethyl parathion products have alsowritten letters to the EPA requesting voluntary cancellation of all their ethyl parathion products.
B. Requests for Voluntary Cancellation
Registrants have requested voluntary cancellation of all their ethyl parathion registrationseither by signing a MOA or by letter to the Agency. Under section 6(f)(1)(A) of FIFRA,registrants may request, at any time, that their pesticide registrations be canceled or amended toterminate one or more pesticide uses. Section 6(f)(1)(B) of FIFRA requires that before acting ona request for voluntary cancellation, EPA must provide a 30-day public comment period on therequest for voluntary cancellation. In addition, section 6(f)(1)(C) of FIFRA requires that EPAprovide a 180-day comment period on a request for voluntary termination of any minoragricultural use before granting the request, unless (1) the registrants request a waiver of thecomment period, or (2) the Administrator determines that continued use of the pesticide wouldpose an unreasonable adverse effect on the environment. The registrant has requested that EPAwaive the 180-day comment period. EPA is granting the registrants' request to waive the180-day comment period and is providing a 30-day public comment period before taking actionon the requested cancellations. Given the potential worker and ecological risk that ethylparathion use poses, EPA anticipates granting the requested cancellations at the close of thecomment period for this announcement. The specific cancellation requests are set forth below.
1. Requests for termination of use on corn grown for seed . Inaccordance with the MOA, Cheminova, Inc. has requested that its end-use products registrationsbe amended to immediately terminate the use of corn grown for seed. EPA anticipates grantingthe requested termination shortly after the end of the 30 day comment period for this notice. Thisuse termination was requested for the end-use products identified in the following Table 1.
| Company | Reg. No. | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Cheminova, Inc. | 67760-37 | Parathion 4EC |
| 67760-38 | Parathion 8EC | |
| 67760-39 | Ethyl-Methyl Parathion 6-3 EC |
2. Requests for voluntary cancellation of manufacturing use productregistrations . Pursuant to the Agreement and FIFRA section 6(f)(1)(A), Cheminova, A/S,the only registrant with a manufacturing use product registration, has submitted a request forvoluntary cancellation of registrations for all ethyl parathion manufacturing-use products. EPAanticipates granting the cancellation request shortly after the end of the 30 day comment periodfor this notice. The registrations for which cancellations were requested are identified in thefollowing Table 2.
| Company | Reg. No. | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Cheminova, A/S | 4787-17 | Parathion Technical |
3. Requests for voluntary cancellation of end-use product registrations .Several registrants have submitted requests for immediate voluntary cancellation of theirregistrations for end-use pesticide products containing ethyl parathion. The registrants who signedthe MOA requested for cancellation of their ethyl parathion end-use product registrationseffective as of December 31, 2002. EPA expects that end-use product registrations canceled byletter of voluntary cancellation are to be canceled shortly after the end of the 30-day commentperiod for this notice. The end-use registrations for which cancellation was requested by MOAor letter are identified in the following Table 3.
| Company | Reg. No. | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Cheminova, Inc. | 67760-37 | Parathion 4EC |
| 67760-38 | Parathion 8EC | |
| 67760-39 | Ethyl-Methyl Parathion 6-3 EC | |
| Universal Cooperatives, Inc. | 1386-646 | Red Panther Parathion 8 |
| Wilbur Ellis, Co. | 2935-481 | Parathion 4 Spray |
| 2935-483 | Parathion 8 Aqua | |
| Amvac, Chemical Co. | 5481-435 | Parathion 8 |
| 5481-436 | Parathion 4E | |
| Helena Chemical | 5905-513 | Parathion 4E Emulsifiable Insecticide Concentrate |
| 5905-514 | Parathion 8E Emulsifiable Insecticide Concentrate | |
| 5905-515 | Parathion - Methyl Parathion 6-3 Insecticide Concentrate | |
| 5905-516 | Helena Parathion 8 Flowable Insecticide Concentrate | |
| Agriliance, LLC | 9779-322 | Parathion 8 |
| Micro-Flo, Co. | 51036-180 | Micro Flo Co./Parathion 8E |
III. Potential Actions Relative to Remaining End-Use Products Registrations
EPA is contemplating various enforcement and regulatory actions with respect to theremaining end-use product registrations after EPA grants the voluntary cancellation requests setforth in Unit II. of this Notice. These remaining registrations cite the manufacturing use productlisted in Table 2 as the source of active ingredient in these products. Because EPA intends to limitthe sale, distribution and use of the existing stocks of this source in the order canceling itsregistration, production of these remaining end-use products may be illegal under the cancellationorder or the current registrations for these end-use products. Accordingly, EPA may initiateappropriate enforcement actions to ensure that the remaining end-use products are not beingproduced illegally after the source is canceled. As shown in the Agency's revised risk assessmentdated September 1999, EPA is concerned with the risks associated with the use of pesticideproducts containing ethyl parathion. Because of these concerns, EPA is contemplating initiating aproceeding to cancel these remaining registrations. The remaining end-use product registrationsthat may be subject to enforcement and regulatory actions discussed in this Unit are identified inthe following Table 4.
| Company | Reg. No. | Product |
|---|---|---|
| Drexel Chemical Co. | 19713-322 | Seis-Tres 6-3 |
| 19713-323 | Drexel Parathion 8 | |
| 19713-324 | Ida Seis-Tres6-3 | |
| 19713-325 | Drexel Parathion 4EC |
IV. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?
Section 6(f)(1) of FIFRA provides that a registrant of a pesticide product may at any timerequest that any of its pesticide registrations be canceled or amended to terminate one or morepesticide uses. FIFRA section 6(f)(1) further provides that, before acting on the request, EPAmust publish a notice of receipt of any such request in the Federal Register ,make reasonable efforts to inform persons who rely on the pesticide for minor agricultural uses,and provide a 30-day period in which the public may comment. Thereafter, the Administratormay approve such a request.
V. Procedures for Withdrawal of Request
Registrants may withdraw a request for cancellation only in conformance with the memorandaof agreement. Registrants must submit such withdrawal in writing to the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT . This written withdrawal of the request for cancellation will apply only to the applicable FIFRA section 6(f)(1) request listed inthis notice. If the product(s) have been subject to a previous cancellation action, the effective dateof cancellation and all other provisions of any earlier cancellation action are controlling. Thewithdrawal request must also include a commitment to pay any reregistration fees due, and tofulfill any applicable unsatisfied data requirements.
VI. Proposed Existing Stocks Provision
Pursuant to section 6(f) of FIFRA, EPA intends to grant the requests for voluntaryamendment and cancellation identified in Unit II. For purposes of the cancellation order that theAgency proposes to issue at the close of the comment period for this announcement, the term "existing stocks" will be defined, pursuant to EPA's existing stocks policy published in the Federal Register on June 26, 1991 at 56 FR 29362, as those stocks of a registered pesticide product which are currentlyin the United States and which have been packaged, labeled, and released for shipment prior tothe effective date of the amendment or cancellation. Any distribution, sale, or use of existingstocks after the effective date of the cancellation order that the Agency intends to issue that is notconsistent with the terms of that order will be considered a violation of section 12(a)(2)(K) and/or 12(a)(1)(A) of FIFRA.
A. Distribution, Sale and Use of End-Use Products Bearing Old Labeling PermittingUse on Corn Grown for Seed
In any cancellation order issued in response to registrants' request for registration amendmentto terminate the use on corn grown for seed, EPA does not intend to prohibit the sale, distributionand use of the existing stocks of these products. Based on the registrants's assurance, EPAanticipates that most of these products will be relabeled to eliminate the canceled use.
B. Distribution, Sale and Use of Manufacturing-Use Products
EPA anticipates that any cancellation order issued in response to the registrants' request forvoluntary cancellation of manufacturing-use product registrations would:
(1) Prohibit, as of the effective date of the cancellation order, all sale, distribution and use ofexisting stocks of manufacturing use products imported into the United States after July 7, 2000;
(2) Prohibit, as of the effective date of the cancellation order, all sale and distribution of ethylparathion manufacturing use products imported into the United States prior to July 7, 2000 topesticide registrants who have not executed the MOA or an agreement equivalent to the MOA,and prohibit use by such registrants, unless the sale, distribution or use is for the purpose ofmanufacturing a product intended solely for export consistent with the requirements of FIFRASection 17; and
(3) Prohibit, as of December 31, 2002, all sale, distribution and use of existing stocks ofmanufacturing-use products imported prior to July 7, 2000, unless the sale or distribution is solelyfor purposes of export consistent with the requirements of section 17 of FIFRA, or for properdisposal.
C. Distribution, Sale and Use of End-Use Products
EPA anticipates that any cancellation order issued in response to the registrants' request forvoluntary cancellation of end-use product registrations would:
(1) Prohibit, as of December 31, 2002, registrants from distributing or selling existing stocks of the end-use products;
(2) Prohibit, as of August 31, 2003, all sale and distribution of existing stocks of the end-use products; and
(3) Prohibit, as of October 31, 2003, all use of existing stocks of the end-use products.
VII. Future Tolerance Revocations
EPA anticipates drafting a future Federal Register notice proposing to separate the parathion tolerances for residues found in 40 CFR 180.121 into 180.121 for ethylparathion and 180.122 for methyl parathion. This future notice will additionally proposerevocation of tolerances on commodities on which there are no registered uses of eitherethyl parathion or methyl parathion. With this present notice, EPA seeks comment as towhether any individuals or groups want to support continuation of these tolerances. For the ninecrops on which ethyl parathion may be used until October 31, 2003, ethyl parathion toleranceswill be revoked with an expiration date which will allow commodities with residues resulting fromlawful applications to clear the channels of trade.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.
Dated: February 22, 2001.
Lois A. Rossi,
Director, Special Review and Reregistration Division, Office ofPesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 01-10436 Filed 5-1-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S