FIFRA
- The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
- FIFRA was first established in 1947 as a way to protect citizens from false advertising in the pesticide market
- It was amended in 1972 and 1988
- FIFRA is national, but does put restrictions on pesticide imports and exports
- Incoming pesticides must be sampled and approved by the EPA, and all exported pesticides must be registered to ship
2 Main Components
1) FIFRA strengthens registration of pesticides by making registration mandatory, and the responsibility of the chemical manufacturer
2) It Enforces compliance against banned and unregistered products
- FIFRA provides the EPA power to regulate and control the use of pesticides, but does not allow the EPA to ignore state or local laws
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 1972, 1988 (FIFRA)
Registration to Prevent Environmental Harm
- FIFRA's objective is to regulate pesticides to prevent harmful chemicals from entering the environment by means of mandatory registration
- Since 1996 over 200 pesticides and 20,000 pesticide products have been discontinued thanks to FIFRA and the EPA's strict registration process
- For a product to be considered for registration
- Its composition should warrant the proposed claims for its labeling and other material required to be submitted comply with the requirements of the Act
- It will perform its intended function without unreasonable adverse effects on the environment
- The EPA has recently taken in to account a pesticide's heightened effect on vulnerable infants and children
Environmental Benefits of FIFRA
-Pesticides largely affect the environment negatively
- They can run off in to any body of water and affect delicate ecosystems
- A pond, for example, could be drastically changed by an influx of pesticides
- Pesticides have been known to kill and mutate frogs, and a decrease in frog population would lead to an increase in Insect population, this cycle can continue and the pond's ecosystem can disrupted further, also pesticides can also create unbalanced bacteria levels
-Pesticides can also harm the human body; they can damage the lungs and the central nervous system, and can lead to birth defects and dysfunctions of the immune system defects
Diatomaceous Earth is an organic pesticide made from crushed fossilized diatom algae. This mildly abrasive powder called diatomite is used in toothpaste and in blood clotting studies. Diatomaceous earth helps with insect control; the dry diatom fossils absorb lipids from the insect's exoskeleton causing it to dehydrate.