Abamectin added to California Proposition 65 list

Date:11-24-2011

Abamectin, the industry standard for mite and leafminer control, has been added to California’s list of Proposition 65 chemicals. This addition is based on the identification of abamectin as a chemical known to the State of California (Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment) to cause reproductive toxicity.
 
Several Syngenta agricultural and lawn and garden products contain abamectin as an active ingredient, including Agri-Flex™ miticide/insecticide, AgriMek® brand miticide/insecticides, Ardent™ 0.15 EC miticide/insecticide, Avid® 0.15 EC miticide/insecticide, Clinch® fire ant bait, Epi-Mek® 0.15 EC miticide/insecticide and Optigard® fire ant bait.
 
"The effectiveness of abamectin has not changed, and Syngenta products with abamectin continue to deliver the performance users have come to expect,” says Geoff Lower, brand asset lead, Syngenta. “Regular, ongoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) review of studies supporting abamectin has suggested the potential for reproductive toxicity, and under California's Proposition 65, all such compounds must be noted.”
 
Syngenta is updating abamectin-containing product labels to include the statement:

Attention: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.
All product cases that include the updated label will carry the symbol “u”next to the product ID for easy identification by distributors and retailers.
 
"Syngenta also will send out supplemental labels with the updated language to our distribution and retailer customers, so they can supply it when current unmarked product in their warehouses is purchased,” Lower says.
 
California’s Proposition 65, officially known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires the State to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. It is updated at least once a year and currently contains approxiamtely 800 naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals.