|
Industry Task
Force II on 2,4-D Research Data
August 9, 2005
No author provided at originating website
URL.
Grounds Maintenance
To submit a Letter to the Editor: cratcliff@primediabusiness.com
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
this week released its comprehensive assessment of the herbicide,
2,4-Dichloro-phenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), under the Agency's
reregistration program. EPA's decision document concluded that 2,4-D
does not present risks of concern to human health when users follow
2,4-D product instructions as outlined in EPA's 2,4-D Reregistration
Eligibility Decision (RED) document. (Visit http://docket.epa.gov/edkpub/do/EDKStaffAttachDownloadPDF?objectId=090007d480925
518 for the 320-page PDF file.)
The Agency's announcement and release of the RED on 2,4-D completed a
17-year EPA review process. 2,4-D is a phenoxy herbicide discovered
sixty years ago and is used worldwide for a wide variety of
applications in agricultural, non-crop, residential, and aquatic
settings. The Agency concluded that acute and short-term margins of
exposure for homeowner applications of 2,4-D to lawns were "not
of concern."
Over the course of 17 years, the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D
Research Data developed and submitted to EPA over 300 Good Laboratory
Practice (GLP) toxicology, environmental and residue studies which EPA
scientists reviewed to assess the herbicide's safety under the Federal
Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Food Quality
Protection Act (FQPA).
Task Force members hold technical 2,4-D FIFRA registrations and
include Dow AgroSciences (U.S.), Nufarm, Ltd. (Australia), Agro-Gor
Corp., a U.S. corporation jointly owned by Atanor, S.A. (Argentina)
and PBI Gordon Corp. (U.S.).
"The EPA's assessment of the human and environmental scientific
data reinforces a growing number of regulatory decisions and expert
reviews that conclude the use of 2,4-D according to product
instructions does not present an unacceptable risk to human health or
the environment," stated Don Page, assistant executive director
of the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data.
"EPA's comprehensive findings are consistent with decisions of
other authorities such as the World Health Organization, Health
Canada, European Commission and recent studies by the U.S. National
Cancer Institute on 2,4-D," added Page.
EPA's RED assessment included a review of animal and human data, the
latter in the form of epidemiology studies (the study of the incidence
of disease in populations).
EPA stated, "The Agency has twice recently reviewed
epidemiological studies linking cancer to 2,4-D. In the first review,
completed January 14, 2004, EPA concluded there is no additional
evidence that would implicate 2,4-D as a cause of cancer (EPA, 2004).
The second review of available epidemiological studies occurred in
response to comments received during the Phase 3 Public Comment Period
for the 2,4-D RED. EPA's report, dated December 8, 2004, and authored
by EPA Scientist Jerry Blondell, Ph.D., found that none of the more
recent epidemiological studies definitively linked human cancer cases
to 2,4-D."
2,4-D, one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S. and
worldwide, is applied to crops such as wheat, corn, rice, soybeans,
potatoes, sugar cane, pome fruits, stone fruits and nuts. It controls invasive
species in aquatic areas and federally protected areas
and broadleaf weeds in turf grass.
An economic evaluation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (NAPIAP
Report 1-PA-96) concluded that the loss of 2,4-D would cost the U.S.
economy $1.7 billion annually in higher food production and weed
control expenses.
Copyright 2005, Primedia.
|