Expert Witness Blog
Pesticides expert witnesses may opine on pesticide contamination, insects, and pest control. In Keeping an Eye on Washington, July 2010, the Chemical Producers & Distributors Association writes:
In the June 15, 2010 Federal Register, EPA published a proposed rule to amend the pesticide container and containment regulations to provide a one-year extension of the labeling compliance date from August 16, 2010 to August 16, 2011. Under the proposal, pesticide products released for shipment by a registrant after August 16, 2011 would be required to bear a label that complies with the container requirements. The pesticide container and containment regulations, promulgated on August 16, 2006, include requirements for container design; procedures, standards, and label language to facilitate removal of pesticide residue prior to container disposal or recycling, and criteria for containment of stationary pesticide containers and procedures for container refilling operations.
A final rule published on October 29, 2008 amended the 2006 regulations to extend the original compliance date of August 16, 2009 to August 16, 2010. However, EPA has concluded there is insufficient time to change all labels by the revised August 16, 2010 compliance date due to several factors: 1) more antimicrobial product labels than expected require alternate rinsing instructions rather than the standard text as set forth in the regulations (such statements on the label must be made through the more time-consuming amendment process rather than through the more simplified notification mechanism); 2) EPA’s position on the appropriate container-related statements, particularly rinsing and treatment of rinsate, for certain pesticides has changed over time as a result of experience with product-by-product label reviews and this, EPA notes, has created confusion within the registrant community; and, 3) the length of time for states to review and approve labels is increasing due to staffing reductions and furloughs brought about by budget shortfalls.
Read more: cpda.com.