Final Rule Will Clarify and Improve the Transparency of Ingredients in Minimum Risk Pesticide Products

The Environmental Protection Agency has published a rule to clarify the substances on the minimum risk pesticide ingredient list and the way ingredients are identified on product labels. Minimum risk pesticides are a special class of pesticides that are not required to be registered with EPA because their ingredients, both active and inert, pose little to no risk to human health or the environment. The Agency is reorganizing these lists and adding specific chemical identifiers to make clearer to manufacturers, the public, and federal, state, and tribal inspectors the specific ingredients that are permitted in minimum risk pesticide products. EPA is also requiring producer contact information and the use of specific common chemical names in lists of ingredients on minimum risk pesticide product labels.

EPA’s revisions to the exemption, announced in a December 28, 2015, Federal Register notice, do not alter the substance of the minimum risk pesticide ingredient lists, but more accurately describe which chemical substances can be used in pesticide products that are exempt from federal pesticide registration requirements. State enforcement agencies have expressed support for the changes.

EPA believes the industry – manufacturers of these products and businesses considering entering the market for minimum risk pesticides – will benefit from clearer guidance. Consumers will benefit from the clearer information on which chemicals the products contain. 

To view the final rule, go to: EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0305-0047