[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23713-23715]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9636]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0176; FRL-9343-9]


Pesticides; Final Guidance on Material Safety Data Sheets as 
Pesticide Labeling; Request for Comment on Paperwork Burden

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Agency is announcing the availability of a Pesticide 
Registration Notice (PR Notice) entitled ``Pesticide Registration (PR) 
Notice 2012-1: Material Safety Data Sheets as Pesticide Labeling.'' 
This PR Notice was issued by the Agency on April 9, 2012. PR Notices 
are issued by the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) to inform 
pesticide registrants and other interested persons about important 
policies, procedures, and registration related decisions, and serve to 
provide guidance to pesticide registrants and OPP personnel. This 
particular PR Notice provides guidance to the registrant concerning the 
relationship between EPA-approved labels for pesticides registered 
under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 
and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS, also referred to as Safety 
Data Sheet or SDS), required by the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA). It explains how registrants can ensure their 
FIFRA labeling and SDS's comply with both agencies' requirements. In 
addition, EPA is hereby soliciting public comment on the information 
collection activities and related burden estimates associated with the 
guidance provided in PR Notice 2012-1.

DATES: Comments on the Agency's information collection activities and 
related burden estimates must be received on or before June 19, 2012.

[[Page 23714]]


ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification 
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0176, by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P), Office of 
Pesticide Programs (OPP), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.
     Hand Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, 
One Potomac Yard (South Building), 2777 S. Crystal Drive, 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. Such deliveries are only accepted during normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP-
2012-0176. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you 
consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or 
email. The regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an email 
comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your 
email address will be automatically captured and included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the 
Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you 
include your name and other contact information in the body of your 
comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your 
comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index 
available at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, 
some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other 
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other 
material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet 
and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly 
available docket materials are available either in the electronic 
docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard 
copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac 
Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of 
operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone 
number is (703) 305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Frances Lowe, Field and External 
Affairs Division (7506P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460-
0001; telephone number: (703) 305-5689; fax number: (703) 308-2962; 
email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

A. Does this action apply to me?

    This action is directed to the public in general. Although this 
action may be of particular interest to those persons who manufacture 
pesticides, State pesticide enforcement personnel and other people may 
also be interested. The Agency has not attempted to describe all the 
specific entities that may be affected by this action. If you have any 
questions regarding the information in this document, consult the 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

B. How can I get copies of this document and other related information?

    EPA has established a Web site for Pesticide PR Notices issued by 
the Office of Pesticide Programs to inform pesticide registrants and 
other interested persons about important policies, procedures and 
regulatory decisions. Go to: http://www.epa.gov/PR_Notices/index.htm.

II. What guidance does this PR Notice provide?

    This final PR Notice provides guidance to the registrant concerning 
the Agency's previous determination in PR Notice 92-4 that a Material 
Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) (also referred to as a Safety Data Sheet 
(SDS)) that accompanies a pesticide product is considered part of the 
pesticide's labeling but may accompany a pesticide product without 
notification to or approval by the Agency, provided such labeling is 
consistent with the labeling requirements in 40 CFR part 156. The PR 
Notice is intended to update and clarify PR Notice 92-4.
    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires 
SDS's under its Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) (29 CFR 1910.1200) 
and is moving to align its HCS requirements with the Globally 
Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). 
OSHA published its final rule on March 26, 2012 (77 FR 17574-17896) and 
will begin to accept SDS's that are prepared according to the final 
rule's requirements on May 25, 2012. EPA has not yet moved to amend its 
labeling regulations to be consistent with the GHS, which leads to 
differences between EPA's current requirements and OSHA's new 
requirements related to classification criteria, hazard statements, 
pictograms, and signal words. Commenters on OSHA's proposed rule raised 
concerns about potential inconsistencies in the two agencies' 
requirements. EPA and OSHA worked together to develop this guidance to 
address these commenters' concerns. The PR Notice is intended to aid 
registrants in assuring that the SDS's for their products not be 
considered inconsistent with the EPA-approved product labeling for 
pesticides registered under FIFRA by providing guidance on how a 
registrant may reconcile an SDS with its associated FIFRA labeling, as 
stated below.
    The Agency believes that generally explaining why the FIFRA label 
and the SDS contain different hazard communication will prevent users 
from being misled. To provide an adequate explanation so the labeling 
is not misleading, EPA recommends registrants include in their SDS's 
the hazard information required on the FIFRA label and a brief 
explanation for differences between that information and the SDS hazard 
information, as outlined in the PR Notice.
    This guidance is effective immediately.

III. Do PR Notices contain binding requirements?

    The PR Notice discussed in this document is intended to provide 
guidance to EPA personnel and decision makers and to pesticide 
registrants. While the requirements in the statutes and Agency 
regulations are binding on EPA and the applicants, this PR Notice is 
not binding on either EPA or pesticide registrants, and EPA may depart 
from the guidance where circumstances warrant and without prior notice. 
Likewise, pesticide registrants may assert that the guidance

[[Page 23715]]

is not appropriate generally or not applicable to a specific pesticide 
or situation.

IV. Does this PR Notice contain an information collection subject to 
the Paperwork Reduction Act?

    This PR Notice provides guidance on what could be included in 
section 15 of the SDS in terms of draft explanatory text and the use of 
FIFRA hazard information as available on the EPA-approved label of a 
registered product. Although using the approach identified in the PR 
Notice is entirely optional, EPA recognizes that the approach involves 
an information collection activity covered by the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., and OMB's regulations at 5 CFR part 
1320. As such, EPA and OSHA will collaborate on a subsequent revision 
to OSHA's ICR, identified under OMB Control No. 1218-0072, which 
addresses the information collection activities contained in the recent 
OSHA final rule revising HCS (77 FR 17574-17896). Before submitting 
such a revision to OMB for review and approval, EPA is hereby 
soliciting public comment on a supporting statement entitled 
``Supporting Statement for a Request to Revise a Currently Approved 
Information Collection Request (ICR) under the Paperwork Reduction Act; 
Proposed Revision to OMB Control No. 1218-0072'' and available in EPA 
Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OPP-2012-0176.

A. Request for Comment on PRA Activities

    Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of PRA, EPA is soliciting 
comments and information to enable it to:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agencies, 
including whether the information will have practical utility.
     Evaluate the accuracy of the estimates of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used.
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected.
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses. In particular, EPA is requesting 
comments from very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on 
examples of specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce 
the paperwork burden for very small businesses affected by this 
collection.

B. PRA Burden Statement

    Burden is defined in 5 CFR 1320.3(b). The annualized public burden 
for this collection of information, which involves the activities 
associated with the SDS preparer's inclusion in section 15 of the SDS 
of additional pesticide information from the EPA-approved labeling as 
described in EPA's PR Notice 2012-1, is estimated to average about 1.4 
hours per respondent, or 0.25 hours per SDS. The ICR provides a 
detailed explanation of this estimate, which is only briefly summarized 
here:
     Estimated total number of potential respondents: 574.
     Frequency of response: Once, and optional.
     Estimated total average number of responses for each 
respondent: 5.4.
     Estimated total annual burden hours: 258 hours averaged 
over the 3-year phase-in established by the OSHA final rule.
     Estimated total annual burden costs: $17,028 averaged over 
the 3-year phase-in established by the OSHA final rule.

C. Next Step Under the PRA

    EPA will consider the comments received and amend the Supporting 
Statement as appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted 
to OMB for review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12 as a revision 
to the OSHA ICR that covers the information collection activities in 
the OSHA HCS, identified under OMB Control No. 1218-0072. OSHA will 
issue another Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 
1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the 
opportunity to submit additional comments. If you have any questions 
about this ICR or the approval process, please contact the technical 
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

List of Subjects

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Agricultural commodities, Pesticides and pests, Pesticide drift, Spray 
drift.

    Dated: April 9, 2012.
Steven Bradbury,
Director, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-9636 Filed 4-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P