Ban of insecticide furadan

Due to toxicity and potential environmental hazard, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced its intention to revoke all tolerances for carbofuran. Carbofuran is the active ingredient of Furadan 4F insecticide, most commonly used in Iowa as a liquid formulation applied to corn.

The Agency's announcement is in the Federal Registry and it states that the final rule revoking all tolerances for carbofuran will be effective on August 13, 2009.

The announcement of the EPA's intended actions was followed with a public announcement from Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Northey to increase Iowans' awareness of the cancellation.

This process began several years ago. A risk and benefits committee reported to the EPA that carbofuran was an unduly hazardous chemical and there were alternative treatments that could be used. In 2006 FMC Corporation, the makers of Furadan, requested an opportunity to appear before the committee. Iowa State University professor of entomology, Jon Tollefson, was an academic expert who gave his view of Furadan use in field crops and a professor from Purdue also testified concerning Furadan use in horticulture crops. There were letters from state secretaries of agriculture supporting the use of Furadan in crops, data from field experiments and several farmers testified.

Upon considering the information presented, EPA maintained its intention to not renew the registration of carbofuran. FMC appealed the decision, but the appeal was not upheld. The process has now come to the point where the final cancellation of tolerances is occurring. It is likely that FMC will challenge the EPA's conclusions by requesting an administrative hearing, but these rebuttals have not altered the agency's direction so far.