Pesticide Notes Newsletter From the Pesticide Safety Education Program http://www.pested.msu.edu

Thank you to Antonio Castro-Escobar with the Michigan Department of Agriculture for providing a WPS update in this issue.

In this issue (March 2004)

* REGULATORY & CERTIFICATION UPDATES - Counterfeit Advantage and Frontline flea control products - WPS enforcement update from the Michigan Dept of Ag

* NEW TRAINING MATERIALS - RUP List from MDA, - Greenhouse worker safety video - Report on WPS and MI Migrant labor - useful web sites: Unified Fed Biotech, Nat'l PSEP Newsletter, Farm Safety

* Q and A - Where to find back issues

* PESTICIDES in the NEWS - Fumigant Emergency Response - WNV and Crow death rates

* CHANGES IN PESTICIDE LABELS & REGISTRATIONS * CALENDAR * JOB/ GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS * SUBMITTING to this NEWSLETTER

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*** REGULATORY & CERTIFICATION UPDATES***
EPA Press Release, 5 March 2004: Counterfeit Pesticide Products For Dogs and Cats Found ­ Retailers Ordered to Stop Sales "EPA is acting to disrupt an effort to distribute counterfeit pet pesticides. The Agency has ordered pesticide distributors and retailers in a number of states to stop selling counterfeit pet pesticide products which falsely contain EPA Registration numbers and labeling for the Advantage and Frontline brands of pesticides. Advantage and Frontline are trade names of widely available pesticides for control of fleas and ticks on cats and dogs. The counterfeit pesticides appear to have been unlawfully imported and packaged in retail cartons which are designed to look similar to legitimately registered pesticides sold in the U.S. EPAs investigation indicates that the counterfeit products have been sold to distributors and retailers throughout the country. The counterfeit products have outer retail cartons that are made to resemble EPA registered pesticides. Inside the cartons are applicators labeled and packaged for overseas markets. In some cases, the pesticide applicators may not have the proper child-resistant packaging or the accompanying instructional leaflet required by the Agency is missing. In addition, the consumer cannot be assured that the pesticide dosage is correct for the animal pictured on the retail carton. Counterfeit products should be disposed of according to accepted procedures for other household chemicals. Many communities and municipalities have local resources to dispose of household chemicals, and consumers are encouraged to contact their local solid waste authority for more information on disposal programs for chemicals. Pet owners who are concerned their pet may be affected by counterfeit products should contact their veterinarian. Legitimate Advantage and Frontline products that have been through EPAs comprehensive review process are registered for use in the United States, and are not affected by this action. Because the counterfeit pesticides do not conform with established safeguards, the Agency has issued Stop Sale orders on the counterfeit products in question. Extensive additional information, including photos of legitimate products, is available at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/petproduct.htm .

Worker Protection Standards (WPS) Update By Antonio Castro-Escobar, Pesticide Section, Michigan Department of Agriculture
The WPS has been in effect for quite awhile, as you may know it has gone through different implementation phases. One of these early phases was a tremendous education and outreach effort conducted by the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) and MSU Extension. As time went by, questions about WPS enforcement in the state, and concerns regarding the WPS education component were evident, why do more education if there is no enforcement? Hopefully the following paragraphs will provide answers to these questions.
The WPS continues to be a high priority at the National level and in EPA region Five. In recent years, the EPA Region Five conducted an audit of MDA's WPS enforcement and also participated in joint WPS inspections with MDA inspectors. The EPA also developed a National WPS Inspection Guidance in an effort to provide consistency in WPS enforcement. This guidance requires that inspectors interview workers and or handlers as part of the inspection.
So is the WPS being enforced? Yes it is, last year the MDA conducted 26 WPS inspections at farms, nurseries, and greenhouses.
What were some of the most common WPS violations encountered? The most common violations included (pesticide safety training, central notification, and failure to notify employees about pesticide treated areas).
What enforcement actions were taken by MDA? Enforcement varies according to the specific situation but some of the enforcement actions taken by MDA included warning letters, informal hearings, stop prohibited conducts, and advisory letters. The goal of the MDA is to gain full compliance whenever WPS violations are detected; it may include re-visits to ensure that violations are corrected.

*** NEW TRAINING MATERIALS***
FREE Stuff FREE to the first responder = 50 tri-fold consumer-targeted brochures for NPIC, the National Pesticide Information Center. Contact Chris DiFonzo at difonzo@msu.edu. RUP List Do you need to know what Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) are registered in Michigan for 2003-04? You can get a list by emailing Stephanie Baughan, the Licensing Communications Assistant at the Michigan Department of Agriculture at baughans9@michigan.gov. Stephanie will send you the list as an attachment. The list is in an excel spreadsheet. Sorry, no hard copies - the list is too long, and MDA is also trying to save $ by reducing hard copies. Also, the list changes frequently as companies reregister products with the state , so your email attachment will be the most up-to-date version.

Greenhouse Safety Video
We had an inquiry about a 1995 WPS training video that was specific to greenhouses, originally available from the Professional Plant Growers Association, Lansing, MI. This association no longer exists. However, the Region 5 EPA Office has tracked down another source for the video, the Society of American Florists in Alexandria, VA. The SAF web site is http://www.safnow.org/ or call 1-800-336-4743. The video is in the on-line catalog under 'Compliance Support Tools'. The Greenhouse safety video is available in both English and Spanish for about $50 (less if you are an SAF member).

Report on Michigan Migrant Labor and WPS
In 1996, a report entitled "Pesticide Laws and Michigan's Migrant Farmworkers: Are They Protected?" was prepared and published by the Julian Samora Research Institute at MSU. The report focused on the new (at that time) worker protection standard and its impact on farmworkers. Unfortunately, the report is now out of date. For example, it does not mention FQPA, and some of the pesticides mentioned on fruit and veg crops are no longer available. However, there are plans to update the publication, so you might hear more about it in 2004. To read the complete 1996 report, see the Julian Samora Institute web site at : http://www.jsri.msu.edu/RandS/research/irr/rr12.html.

Web site: U.S. Regulatory Agencies Unified Biotechnology
A new portal was launched that compiles information from all of the agencies regulating biotech crops in the U.S. (USDA, EPA, FDA). The web site has info on the role of each agency in regulation, and info on the laws and procedures used to regulate biotech crops. The site also has a database of biotech regulatory reviews that can be searched by crop, species, trait, event, and company. http://usbiotechreg.nbii.gov/

Web site: National PSEP Program Newsletter
The National Pesticide Safety Education Program (through USDA) publishes a quarterly newsletter on pesticide issues. http://www.reeusda.gov/1700/whatnew/quarterly04/psepquarterly01.pdf Topics in this first edition of 2004 include: Spray Table Project New EPA Administrator Confirmed Cancellations of TBT, CCA, and Diazinon products Dow fined for safety claims NASDA Comments on Pesticide Permitting Guidance New Bio-based pesticide Transgenic corn w/ Bt stack is approved Creosote risk assessment

Web site: Farm Safety Here is a good web site on farm safety from Rutgers. It has everything you can think of related to safety - - pesticides, chainsaws, horse farms, tractors, ergonomics, skin cancer, kids, to http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/farmsafety/

*** Q and A***
Q: How can I get back issues of this newsletter?
A: You can find back issues of this newsletter (1998-2004) on our web site www.pested.msu.edu. Issues from 1998-2002 were printed and sent to all extension offices as a hard copy. Issues since September 2003 have only as an electronic newsletter.

*** PESTICIDES in the NEWS***
Suspicious fumigant
A window and door company near South Bend, Indiana found a suspicious cylinder leaking power in a crate from China. The cylinder contained aluminum phosphide, possibly used to fumigate the wood doors in the crate during shipment. The company apparently did a good job of recognizing something was wrong, isolating the shipment, and contacting authorities. Details of the emergency response to the incident can be found in the South Bend Tribune news story at http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2004/03/09/local.20040309-sbt-MARS-A1-Leaking_powder_bring.sto

West Nile and crow deaths
We all know that West Nile Virus (WNV) can kill birds, but at what rate? A recent study by Sarah Yaremych and others from the University of Illinois and the Illinois Natural History Survey is the first peer-reviewed article to document the death rate from WNV in a tracked wild bird population. In Yaremych's study, 2/3rds of American crows tagged and followed with radio transmitters died from West Nile virus in the summer of 2002, the same year that Illinois had one of the highest rates of WNV infection in humans. The authors also sampled mosquito pools in the birds habitats. The entire journal article is on the CDC web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no4/03-0499.htm

*** CHANGES IN PESTICIDE LABELS & REGISTRATIONS***
Tolerances aminoethoxyvinylglycine hydrochloride (Valent): Tolerances established on apples, pears, and stone fruits (except cherries). [Fed Register, 18 Feb 2004]
acequinocyl (Arvesta Corporation): Proposed tolerances on pome fruit, apple pomace, cattle meat, milk, and strawberries [Fed Register, 25 Feb 2004]
novaluron (Makhteshim-Agan): Proposed tolerances on pome fruits, tuberous and corm vegetables, cattle meat and milk. [Fed Register, 25 Feb 2004]
propiconazole (Syngenta): proposed extending tolerances on corn forage, grain, and stover spirodiclofen (Bayer): Proposed tolerances on pome and stone fruits, grapes, and raisins [Fed Register, 18 Feb 2004]
thifensulfuron methyl herbicide: Tolerance reinstated on corn (EPA mistakenly dropped tolerances).
Numerous active ingredients: Tolerances revoked on meat, milk, poultry, or eggs for the following: aldicarb, carbofuran, diazinon, and dimethoate (insecticides); atrazine, metolachlor, and sodium acifluorfen (herbicides); fenarimol, propiconazole, and thiophanate-methyl (fungicides); and the defoliant cacodylic acid. EPA determined that these tolerances were no longer needed.
Exemptions from the requirement to establish a tolerance Bacillus pumilus GB34 (Gustafson LLC): Petition received to exempt this pesticide when used as a seed treatment or on food commodities. Reason - it is a microbial pesticide. [Fed Register 3 March 2004]
gellan gum (CP Kelco): Petition received to exempt this product when used as an inert ingredient in a pesticide. Gellan gum is a common additive in small amounts in foods such as deserts, candy, fillings, juices, and milk products. [Fed Register, 3 March 2004]
potassium dihydrogen phosphate = KDP (Cal Agri Products, LLC). Registrant filed to extend the exemption from a tolerance for this insecticide. Reason: "KDP is ubiquitous element in nature and is a common ingredient in many consumer and industrial products used worldwide". [Fed Register, 20 Feb 2004]
yeast extract hydrolysate (Morse Enterprises): Petition received to exempt this pesticide when used on all food commodities to control plant diseases. Product is a hydrolysate from a microbe, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. [Fed Register 3 March 2004]