[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 12, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11447-11449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-6014]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[OPP-181035; FRL 5591-3]
Mancozeb; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption,
Solicitation of Public Comment
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: EPA has received a specific exemption request from the
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection
(hereafter referred to as the ``Applicant'') to use the pesticide,
mancozeb (CAS 8018-01-7), formulated as Dithane DF, to treat up to
5,000 acres of ginseng to control stem and leaf blight. Since this
request proposes a use which has been requested or granted in any 3
previous years, and a complete application for registration and
petition for tolerance has not yet been submitted to the Agency; and
since mancozeb has also been the subject of a Special Review, EPA is
soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to
grant the exemption, in accordance with 40 CFR 166.24(a)(5) and (6).
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 27, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Three copies of written comments, bearing the identification
notation ``OPP-181035,'' should be submitted by mail to: Public
Response and Program Resource Branch, Field Operations Division
(7506C), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency,
401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. In person, bring comments to: Rm.
1132, Crystal Mall #2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
Comments and data may also be submitted electronically by sending
electronic mail (e-mail) to: opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov. Electronic
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption. Comments and data will also be
accepted on disks in WordPerfect in 5.1
[[Page 11448]]
file format or ASCII file format. All comments and data in electronic
form must be identified by the docket number [OPP-181035]. No
Confidential Business Information (CBI) should be submitted through e-
mail. Electronic comments on this notice may be filed online at many
Federal Depository Libraries. Additional information on electronic
submissions can be found below in this document.
Information submitted in any comment concerning this notice may be
claimed confidential by marking any part or all of that information as
CBI. Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance
with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. A copy of the comment that
does not contain CBI must be provided by the submitter for inclusion in
the public record. Information not marked confidential may be disclosed
publicly by EPA without prior notice. All written comments filed
pursuant to this notice will be available for public inspection in Rm.
1132, Crystal Mall No. 2, 1921 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA,
from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: By mail: Andrea Beard, Registration
Division (7505W), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 M St., SW., Washington, DC 20460. Office
location and telephone number: Floor 6, Crystal Station #1, 2800
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA, (703) 308-8791; e-mail:
beard.andrea@epamail.epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 18 of the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p),
the Administrator may, at her discretion, exempt a state agency from
any registration provision of FIFRA if she determines that emergency
conditions exist which require such exemption. The Applicant has
requested the Administrator to issue a specific exemption for the use
of mancozeb on ginseng to control stem and leaf blight. Information in
accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was submitted as part of this request.
According to the Applicant, Alternaria blight rarely kills the
ginseng root, which is the marketed portion; however, loss of the
foliage results in significant root yield loss in a harvested crop, and
retards root growth and overwintering ability in younger crops.
Infestations of Alternaria blight in one season greatly increase the
potential for epidemics in subsequent seasons, since the fungus remains
in the infected plant debris. Rovral 50W, the only fungicide carrying a
section 3 label for use against Alternaria blight on ginseng, is no
longer effective since Alternaria panax has developed a resistance to
it. If not controlled, Alternaria blight can be expected to infest all
of Wisconsin's 5,000 acres of ginseng and growers will suffer
significant economic loss.
Under the proposed exemption, 2.0 lbs of product (1.5 lbs of a.i.)
per acre may be used on up to 5,000 acres. A maximum of 12 applications
at a minimum of 7-day intervals may be made by ground equipment.
Therefore, use under this exemption could potentially result in
application of up to 120,000 lbs. product (90,000 lbs. a.i.) total.
This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the
application itself. The regulations governing section 18 require that
the Agency publish notice of receipt in the Federal Register and
solicit public comment on an application for a specific exemption if
the requested chemical has been subject to a Special Review, and is
intended for a use that could pose a risk similar to the risk posed by
any use of the pesticide which is or has been subject of the Special
Review. [40 CFR 166.24 (a)(5)].
The Agency initiated a Special Review of the ethylene
bisdithiocarbamate (EBDC) fungicides on July 17, 1987, which includes
mancozeb. A notice of final determination was issued March 2, 1992. The
Agency took this action based on an assessment of the risks from
exposure to ethylenethiourea (ETU) present in, or formed as a result of
metabolic conversion from pesticide products containing the active
ingredient mancozeb. ETU, a potential human carcinogen, teratogen, and
thyroid toxicant, is present as a contaminant, degradation product, and
metabolite of all the EBDC pesticides. The Agency concluded that the
estimated cumulative risk of 10-5 from all current 55 food uses
was unacceptable and, therefore, canceled the following 11 food uses:
apricots, carrots, celery, collards mustard greens, nectarines,
peaches, rhubarb, spinach succulent beans and turnips. These
cancellations reduce estimated lifetime dietary risk to 1.6 x 10-6
which the Agency has determined does not outweigh the benefits of the
44 retained uses.
The regulations also require the Agency to publish a notice of
receipt in the Federal Register and solicit public comment on an
application for a specific exemption if an emergency exemption has been
requested or granted for that use in any 3 previous years, and a
complete application for registration of that use has not been
submitted to the Agency [40 CFR 166.24(a)(6)]. Exemptions for the use
of mancozeb on ginseng have been requested for the past ten years (1987
- 1996). The registrant, Rohm and Haas, has indicated that they intend
to pursue a registration in cooperation with IR-4 this year, and it is
expected that an application for registration will be submitted to the
Agency before the end of 1997.
A record has been established for this notice under docket number
[OPP-181035] (including comments and data submitted electronically as
described below). A public version of this record, including printed,
paper versions of electronic comments, which does not include any
information claimed as CBI is available for inspection from 8:30 a.m.
to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The public
record is located in Room 1132 of the Public Response and Program
Resource Branch, Field Operations Division (7506C), Office of Pesticide
Programs, Environmental Protection Agency, Crystal Mall #2, 1921
Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.
Electronic comments can be sent directly to EPA at:
opp-docket@epamail.epa.gov
Electronic comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the
use of special characters and any form of encryption.
The official record for this notice, as well as the public version,
as described above will be kept in paper form. Accordingly, EPA will
transfer all comments received electronically into printed, paper form
as they are received and will place the paper copies in the official
record which will also include all comments submitted directly in
writing. The official record is the paper record maintained at the
address in ``ADDRESSES'' at the beginning of this document.
Accordingly, interested persons may submit written views on this
subject to the Field Operations Division at the address above.
The Agency, accordingly, will review and consider all comments
received during the comment period in determining whether to issue the
emergency exemption requested by the Wisconsin Department of
Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.
List of Subjects
Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests, Emergency
exemptions.
[[Page 11449]]
Dated: February 28, 1997.
Peter Caulkins,
Acting Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
[FR Doc. 97-6014 Filed 3-11-97 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F
