US EPA Issued Test Guidelines for Public Health Uses of Antimicrobial Agents

EPA has issued a Federal Register Notice of Availability for four guidelines for the Series 810 – Product Performance Test Guidelines for Public Health Uses of Antimicrobial Agents. These test guidelines represent an Agency effort to harmonize the test guidelines within the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), as well as to harmonize the OCSPP test guidelines with those of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The process for developing and amending the test guidelines, which began in 1991, includes public participation and extensive involvement of the scientific community.

The four final guidelines are:

• OCSPP 810.2000 - General Considerations for Public Health Uses of Antimicrobial Agents
• OSCPP 810.2100 – Sterilants
• OSCPP 810.2200 - Disinfectants
• OSCPP 810.2300 - Sanitizers

Companies seeking to register a pesticide must submit studies to EPA that satisfy the data requirements of the pesticide statute (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act). EPA recommends that companies follow the Harmonized Test Guidelines because they provide helpful guidance about conducting the studies.