March 20, 2009

The EPA has granted the request from FMC Corporation to cancel certain uses of and products containing flowable and granular carbofuran effective March 18. Existing stocks of the canceled products may be used until they are depleted, or until the effective date for revocation of the associated tolerances.

For more information EPA Pesticide Reregistration Web site on carbofuran http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/reregistration/carbofuran/

All federally registered uses for carbofuran are being canceled except for field corn, sunflowers, potatoes, pumpkins, pine seedlings, and spinach grown for seed. Among the uses of flowablecarbofuran being terminated are alfalfa, ornamentals, popcorn, smallgrains (wheat, oats and barley) soybeans, sugarcane, and sweet corn.

Certain additional uses of carbofuran that had been requested by specific states under a "special local needs" provision of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) are also being canceled.

EPA's reregistration eligibility decision for carbofuran, completed in 2006, concluded that no carbofuran uses met the statutory standard and therefore no uses were eligible for reregistration. The Agency has found that there are considerable risks to children associated with carbofuran in food and drinking water. EPA has also identified risks to pesticide applicators and to birds in treated fields. EPA further determined that none of the available regulatory alternatives to cancellation of all registered uses could reduce the potential risks to acceptable levels and FMC Corporation voluntarily requested to cancel 22 carbofuran uses.

The remaining food uses (corn, potatoes, sunflowers and pumpkins) are being evaluated as part of the process for issuing a final rule with regard to the proposed tolerance revocations the Agency published in July 2008.

Based on an EPA News Release