US EPA announces voluntary cancellation of certain methomyl uses

In January 2015, US EPA and manufacturers agreed to voluntarily cancel certain uses of methomyl because of EPA’s estimates of the drinking water risks for the use of methomyl in agricultural settings. Actions taken include:

 

- canceling the use of methomyl on barley, oat, and rye; 

- limiting its use on wheat to Idaho, Oregon, and Washington;

- reducing the number of applications for corn, celery, and head and leaf lettuce; and

- reducing the number of applications and the seasonal maximum application rate for peppers.

 

EPA and manufacturers also reached an agreement to stop making and selling some fly bait products (the only non-agriculture use of methomyl) and to add label language that clarifies the approved uses. EPA believes that these changes will reduce the illegal use of methomyl fly bait products to kill wildlife, an issue that has been reported to EPA by a number of states.

 

Methomyl is currently undergoing registration review, a program that re-evaluates all pesticides on a 15-year cycle. EPA plans to release methomyl’s draft risk assessment in 2016.

 

The registrants are DuPont, MacDermid Agricultural Solutions, Sion USA, and Rotam.