[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 143 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43424-43426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14851]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[OPP-2005-0079; FRL-7706-4]


Notice of Availability Regarding Activity-Based Reentry 
Restrictions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: To enhance transparency in the EPA's decision making, this 
notice announces the availability of its guidance, comments from 
interested parties, its response to stakeholder input, and several 
other documents related to the use of activity-based reentry 
restrictions. Based on consideration of the extensive stakeholder 
input, the EPA intends to continue with its case-by-case consideration 
in setting worker field reentry restrictions described in its 2001 
guidance document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Dumas, Special Review and 
Reregistration Division (7508C), Office of Pesticide Programs, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, 
Washington, DC 20460-0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8015; fax 
number: (703) 308-8005; e-mail address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. Does this Action Apply to Me?

    This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides 
a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this 
action. Other types of entities not listed in this unit could also be 
affected. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 
codes have been provided to assist you and others in determining 
whether this action might apply to certain entities. If you have any

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questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular 
entity, consult the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT.

B. How Can I Get Copies of this Document and Other Related Information?

    1. Docket. EPA has established an official public docket for this 
action under docket identification number OPP-2005-0079. The official 
public docket consists of the documents specifically referenced in this 
action, any public comments received, and other information related to 
this action. Although a part of the official docket, the public docket 
does not include Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. The official 
public docket is the collection of materials that is available for 
public viewing at the Public Information and Records Integrity Branch 
(PIRIB), Rm. 119, Crystal Mall 2, 1801 S. Bell St., Arlington, 
VA. This docket facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The docket telephone number 
is (703) 305-5805.
    2. Electronic access. You may access this Federal Register document 
electronically through the EPA Internet under the ``Federal Register'' 
listings at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may 
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ to view public comments, 
access the index listing of the contents of the official public docket, 
and to access those documents in the public docket that are available 
electronically. Although not all docket materials may be available 
electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available 
docket materials through the docket facility identified in Unit I.B.1. 
Once in the system, select ``search,'' then key in the appropriate 
docket ID number.

II. Background

A. What Action is the Agency Taking?

    Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 
(FIFRA), EPA (the Agency) is required to ensure that pesticides do not 
cause unreasonable adverse effects to the environment. Data are 
presented to the Agency regarding the safety of the pesticide and it is 
the Agency's responsibility to determine if a pesticide can be used 
consistent with the FIFRA standard. The Agency makes its safety 
determination based on the risks and benefits associated with the use 
of the pesticide. Using the best available data and information, the 
Agency conducts risk assessments for farmworkers exposed to pesticides 
from contact with treated surfaces while performing various tasks in 
the field. Risk assessments involved combining data on the hazard of 
the chemical, estimates of exposure for the tasks actually performed in 
the field for a particular crop and safety factors to account for 
extrapolating animal data to humans and differences among people. When 
a risk of concern is identified, the Agency considers ways to reduce 
exposure to pesticide residues by farmworkers. One of the measures used 
to mitigate the exposure of workers to pesticide residues is to 
restrict entry to areas recently treated with pesticides. These 
restricted entry intervals (REIs) take into account the types of 
activities conducted by farmworkers that cause them to come into 
contact with treated surfaces, high contact with treated plant surfaces 
vs. low contact with treated plant surfaces. The Agency determines when 
it is safe for workers to enter a treated area to conduct these 
activities.
    In a few 1999 chemical decisions, the Agency set more than one REI 
for some crops. That is, it set one REI for higher contact activities 
and a shorter REI for all other activities for the same crop. Among 
other things, this approach created some confusion and concerns that 
allowing reentry during a REI erodes the effectiveness of over a decade 
of worker protection training. To address these concerns, a workgroup 
was formed to address implementation issues associated with REIs. This 
workgroup included risk-management, worker protection, and enforcement 
staff from EPA headquarters, EPA Regional offices and states. This 
effort contributed to a guidance document for Agency risk managers. The 
document dated September 6, 2001, provides guidance for Agency risk 
managers to consider in making activity-based reentry decisions, 
provides an alternative to setting more than one REI for a single crop 
by employing exceptions and prohibitions to REI on product labels, and 
encourages using the approach sparingly.
    Several stakeholder groups have expressed concern and raised issues 
about the approach described in the guidance document. Over the past 
few years, the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) has actively sought 
input from interested parties to understand the range of perspectives 
on the approach and to get ideas for improving the overall approach. 
The Agency received input from state officials responsible for the 
implementation of pesticide labeling and the Worker Protection Standard 
(WPS), the pesticide industry who developed much of the activity-based 
worker exposure data in support of its registrations, advocacy groups 
who focus on worker protection issues, and grower groups who seek the 
maximum flexibility in the use of crop protection chemicals. Because of 
its broad stakeholder outreach, the Agency believes that at this time, 
it is unlikely that the public would provide significant new 
information if a formal public comment period were open on this matter.
    Based on consideration of extensive stakeholder input, the Agency 
intends to continue its current practice of considering the use of 
activity-based reentry restrictions on a case-by-case basis. In 
reaching this conclusion, the Agency shares the concerns raised by some 
stakeholders regarding the enforceability and the potential reduction 
in the effectiveness of worker training programs that may result from 
the use of activity-based reentry labeling. However, the Agency 
believes there are circumstances when the use of such labeling is 
warranted because of a clear agronomic need and alternative approaches 
for balancing risks and benefits are less effective.
    This notice announces the opening of a special docket describing 
the Agency's general approach for considering specific fieldworker 
activity information in setting restricted entry intervals. A docket 
has been established that includes the program's general approach and 
supporting documentation including written comments, the Agency 
response and other related documents. As mentioned above, based on its 
consideration of the extensive stakeholder input, the Agency intends to 
continue its case-by-case consideration in making reentry decisions, as 
described in its 2001 guidance document. The approach described in the 
guidance is non-binding and the Agency remains open to alternative 
approaches for addressing worker reentry risk concerns.

B. What is the Agency's Authority for Taking this Action?

    The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. 
136, et seq.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, pesticides and pests.


[[Page 43426]]


    Dated: July 21, 2005.
James Jones,
Director, Office of Pesticides Programs.
[FR Doc. 05-14851 Filed 7-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S