Expert Witness Blog
Pesticide expert witnesses may write reports and testify on pesticide contamination, insecticides, and pesticide products. The EPA regulates the use of pesticides under the authority of two federal statutes: the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) provides the basis for regulation, sale, distribution and use of pesticides in the U.S. FIFRA authorizes EPA to review and register pesticides for specified uses. EPA also has the authority to suspend or cancel the registration of a pesticide if subsequent information shows that continued use would pose unreasonable risks. Some key elements of FIFRA include:
* is a product licensing statute; pesticide products must obtain an EPA registration before manufacture, transport, and sale * registration based on a risk/benefit standard * strong authority to require data–authority to issue Data Call-ins * ability to regulate pesticide use through labeling, packaging, composition, and disposal * emergency exemption authority–permits approval of unregistered uses of registered products on a time limited basis * ability to suspend or cancel a product’s registration: appeals process, adjudicatory functions, etc.
Read more: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/laws.htm