[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 12, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11447-11449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-6014]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-181035; FRL 5591-3]


Mancozeb; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption, 
Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific exemption request from the 
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection 
(hereafter referred to as the ``Applicant'') to use the pesticide, 
mancozeb (CAS 8018-01-7), formulated as Dithane DF, to treat up to 
5,000 acres of ginseng to control stem and leaf blight. Since this 
request proposes a use which has been requested or granted in any 3 
previous years, and a complete application for registration and 
petition for tolerance has not yet been submitted to the Agency; and 
since mancozeb has also been the subject of a Special Review, EPA is 
soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to 
grant the exemption, in accordance with 40 CFR 166.24(a)(5) and (6).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Three copies of written comments, bearing the identification 
notation ``OPP-181035,'' should be submitted by mail to: Public 
Response and Program Resource Branch, Field Operations Division 
(7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, 
401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. In person, bring comments to: Rm. 
1132, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
    Comments and data may also be submitted electronically by sending 
electronic mail (e-mail) to: [email protected]. Electronic 
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data will also be 
accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1

[[Page 11448]]

file format or ASCII file format. All comments and data in electronic 
form must be identified by the docket number [OPP-181035]. No 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) should be submitted through e-
mail. Electronic comments on this notice may be filed online at many 
Federal Depository Libraries. Additional information on electronic 
submissions can be found below in this document.
    Information submitted in any comment concerning this notice may be 
claimed confidential by marking any part or all of that information as 
CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance 
with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. A copy of the comment that 
does not contain CBI must be provided by the submitter for inclusion in 
the public record. Information not marked confidential may be disclosed 
publicly by EPA without prior notice. All written comments filed 
pursuant to this notice will be available for public inspection in Rm. 
1132, Crystal Mall No. 2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA, 
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Andrea Beard, Registration 
Division (7505W), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. Office 
location and telephone number: Floor 6, Crystal Station #1, 2800 
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA, (703) 308-8791; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 18 of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), 
the Administrator may, at her discretion, exempt a state agency from 
any registration provision of FIFRA if she determines that emergency 
conditions exist which require such exemption. The Applicant has 
requested the Administrator to issue a specific exemption for the use 
of mancozeb on ginseng to control stem and leaf blight. Information in 
accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was submitted as part of this request.
    According to the Applicant, Alternaria blight rarely kills the 
ginseng root, which is the marketed portion; however, loss of the 
foliage results in significant root yield loss in a harvested crop, and 
retards root growth and overwintering ability in younger crops. 
Infestations of Alternaria blight in one season greatly increase the 
potential for epidemics in subsequent seasons, since the fungus remains 
in the infected plant debris. Rovral 50W, the only fungicide carrying a 
section 3 label for use against Alternaria blight on ginseng, is no 
longer effective since Alternaria panax has developed a resistance to 
it. If not controlled, Alternaria blight can be expected to infest all 
of Wisconsin's 5,000 acres of ginseng and growers will suffer 
significant economic loss.
    Under the proposed exemption, 2.0 lbs of product (1.5 lbs of a.i.) 
per acre may be used on up to 5,000 acres. A maximum of 12 applications 
at a minimum of 7-day intervals may be made by ground equipment. 
Therefore, use under this exemption could potentially result in 
application of up to 120,000 lbs. product (90,000 lbs. a.i.) total.
    This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the 
application itself. The regulations governing section 18 require that 
the Agency publish notice of receipt in the Federal Register and 
solicit public comment on an application for a specific exemption if 
the requested chemical has been subject to a Special Review, and is 
intended for a use that could pose a risk similar to the risk posed by 
any use of the pesticide which is or has been subject of the Special 
Review. [40 CFR 166.24 (a)(5)].
    The Agency initiated a Special Review of the ethylene 
bisdithiocarbamate (EBDC) fungicides on July 17, 1987, which includes 
mancozeb. A notice of final determination was issued March 2, 1992. The 
Agency took this action based on an assessment of the risks from 
exposure to ethylenethiourea (ETU) present in, or formed as a result of 
metabolic conversion from pesticide products containing the active 
ingredient mancozeb. ETU, a potential human carcinogen, teratogen, and 
thyroid toxicant, is present as a contaminant, degradation product, and 
metabolite of all the EBDC pesticides. The Agency concluded that the 
estimated cumulative risk of 10-5 from all current 55 food uses 
was unacceptable and, therefore, canceled the following 11 food uses: 
apricots, carrots, celery, collards mustard greens, nectarines, 
peaches, rhubarb, spinach succulent beans and turnips. These 
cancellations reduce estimated lifetime dietary risk to 1.6 x 10-6 
which the Agency has determined does not outweigh the benefits of the 
44 retained uses.
    The regulations also require the Agency to publish a notice of 
receipt in the Federal Register and solicit public comment on an 
application for a specific exemption if an emergency exemption has been 
requested or granted for that use in any 3 previous years, and a 
complete application for registration of that use has not been 
submitted to the Agency [40 CFR 166.24(a)(6)]. Exemptions for the use 
of mancozeb on ginseng have been requested for the past ten years (1987 
- 1996). The registrant, Rohm and Haas, has indicated that they intend 
to pursue a registration in cooperation with IR-4 this year, and it is 
expected that an application for registration will be submitted to the 
Agency before the end of 1997.
    A record has been established for this notice under docket number 
[OPP-181035] (including comments and data submitted electronically as 
described below). A public version of this record, including printed, 
paper versions of electronic comments, which does not include any 
information claimed as CBI is available for inspection from 8:30 a.m. 
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The public 
record is located in Room 1132 of the Public Response and Program 
Resource Branch, Field Operations Division (7506C), Office of Pesticide 
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
    Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
    [email protected]
    Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the 
use of special characters and any form of encryption.
    The official record for this notice, as well as the public version, 
as described above will be kept in paper form. Accordingly, EPA will 
transfer all comments received electronically into printed, paper form 
as they are received and will place the paper copies in the official 
record which will also include all comments submitted directly in 
writing. The official record is the paper record maintained at the 
address in ``ADDRESSES'' at the beginning of this document. 
Accordingly, interested persons may submit written views on this 
subject to the Field Operations Division at the address above.
    The Agency, accordingly, will review and consider all comments 
received during the comment period in determining whether to issue the 
emergency exemption requested by the Wisconsin Department of 
Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests, Emergency 
exemptions.


[[Page 11449]]


    Dated: February 28, 1997.

Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.

[FR Doc. 97-6014 Filed 3-11-97 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F