Agricultural News
EPA Maintains Rigorous Standards with Release of EDSP Tier 1 Results
Mon, 06 Jul 2015 14:21:05 CDT
CropLife America (CLA) commends the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for recently releasing the Tier 1 Weight of Evidence results for the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). The EDSP is the most advanced program in the world for identifying and regulating endocrine disruptors, and CLA applauds EPA for following a risk- and exposure-based approach. The EPA's rigorous testing and science-based regulations contribute to the protection of public health and the environment and ensure that growers have access to increasingly precise crop protection products.
"The crop protection and chemical industries support EPA's development of a two-tiered approach to protect public health from chemicals with unintended, harmful effects," stated Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CLA. "Through the thoroughly developed approach of the EDSP, EPA can separate effective chemicals that benefit society from ones that should not be near people. CLA members have committed significant resources to develop the EDSP, and our industry will continue to work with EPA to help get effective products to growers so that everyone has access to safe, nutritious and affordable food."
In 2009, EPA issued test orders requiring the Tier 1 screening of 67 pesticide compounds for their interaction with 11 different scientific analysis assays representing the estrogen, androgen and thyroid pathways in humans and wildlife. These compounds were chosen based in part on the potential for human exposure through normal agricultural use. The chemicals identified from Tier 1 to have potential interaction with the endocrine system will subsequently move on to Tier 2 of the screening process. The results of the Tier 2 tests will then guide EPA's final determination of whether a substance may have an adverse impact on the endocrine system under normal conditions of use, and any subsequent product regulation change.
"Every day, we interact with substances that affect our endocrine system, many in intentional ways," stated Dr. Janet E. Collins, senior vice president of science and regulatory affairs at CLA. "Many people, for instance, aren't able to get their mornings started without a cup of coffee to wake them up. Through the EDSP's weight of evidence approach, EPA is able to confidently determine whether a substance needs further testing to find out if it affects public health negatively. We look forward to reviewing the Tier 1 results more closely."
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