PEP-Talk, February, 2002

Pesticide Education Program
Ohio State University Extension
Joanne Kick-Raack, State Coordinator
Cindy Folck, Communications
Vol. 6, Issue 2

In This Issue

What Are All the Complaints About?

The Ohio Department of Agriculture released their summary of complaint pesticide investigations for their fiscal year 2001. These were investigations done after formal complaints were filed with the department. Structural pest (including termite problems) led the complaints list with 113 filed. Second place belonged to agriculture with a total of 46 complaints. Drift complaints were the leading cause of agricultural inspections, with site damage a distant second. Turf and ornamental complaints numbered 30 during the year and industrial vegetation rounded out the top inspections with 21 complaints.

Michigan Offers Emergency Farm Planning

Michigan State University has created an emergency farm planning page on their website. A very useful part of the emergency page is the tables and charts of extremely hazardous substances, threshold planning quantities and reportable quantities.

The tables list the SARA Title III Extremely Hazardous Substance Threshold Planning Quantities. SARA Title III is the list of substances that need to be reported by farmers and businesses if they store these products, or have a spill involving any of these substances. The reporting needs to be done to local emergency agencies if they store these substances, and if a spill occurs the reporting needs to be expanded to the Ohio EPA.

The reporting is based on the amount of the product that is stored or spilled, which is called the Threshold Planning Quantities and is included on the list. It's important that farmers are aware of these regulations, so they can complete the reporting requirements of SARA Title III. Contact Joanne Kick-Raack at (614) 247-7489 or kick-raack.1@osu.edu if you need more information about Sara Title III.

Minnesota Offers Certification Exams Online

The State of Minnesota is offering private pesticide applicators the opportunity to take their certification exam online. From the website, applicators can download their study materials, pay for exam with a credit card and complete the exam from the comfort of their own home or office. The website is http://www.pat.umn.edu. To take the exam, applicators access the website at www.pat.umn.edu and follow the directions. Applicators will know immediately if they have passed the test. Upon passing, applicator will receive immediately (from the website) a temporary certificate that can be used to order and purchase Restricted Use Pesticides.

Headwater v. Talent - Nine Months Later

In the court case Headwaters v. Talent, the federal court decision mandated that Clean Water Act (CWA) permits be obtained for aquatic herbicide applications. This case highlighted the growing conflict between the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and CWA. The lawsuit involved fish kill from irrigation water that was recently treated with herbicides and accidentally released into a stream.

As a result of the court case, EPA announced it would complete the action of deciding how to settle the conflict of the federal pesticide and clean water laws by the end of 2001. However, an EPA official said November 13 that EPA may extend beyond the end of this year an enforcement directive that places a low priority on permits for aquatic herbicide applications.

To bring immediate and proactive public health results, industry officials contend that EPA could officially announce an interpretive ruling that would state that federally registered pesticides applied according to the label are not pollutants as defined under CWA. A ruling such as this would be consistent with the interpretation EPA has held for the thirty years the CWA and FIFRA have been law. (Source: Chemically Speaking, University of Florida Extension, November - December, 2001.)

SEPA Defeated in Committee

The School Environment Protection Act (SEPA) was defeated in a Congressional committee. The Senate had unanimously approved SEPA as an amendment to a major education bill earlier in 2001. Some of the basic provisions of the SEPA amendment were notification of pest management and pesticide use to all parents and school staff three times a year and allowance for parents to request notification at least 24 hours in advance of pesticide applications. Each state would have been required to develop a school pest management plan to submit to EPA for approval. Each local educational agency would have been required to implement a school pest management policy which incorporated IPM principles. According to Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, industry representatives say the defeat of SEPA could mean similar or more restrictive legislation in 2002. (Source: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, December 10, 2001.)

Deadline Looms for Organically Used Pesticides

Biopesticide manufacturers have until October 21 to reformulate products used in organic agriculture. The pesticides must contain only inert ingredients identified by EPA as "minimal concern." Industry officials say organic farmers could lose the use of more than half the pesticides currently available if manufacturers do not reformulate products by the deadline.

British Consumers More Skeptical of Organic Foods

A recently released study reveals that British consumers are growing more skeptical of organic foods. Based on questions sent to a sample of 1,000 consumers, 16% believe organic products are safer than their non-organic counterparts. That percentage is down from 22% in 1999. The study also found that 18% of consumers view organics as being healthier, down from 22% in 1999.

Overall, organics accounted for 1.5% of total in-home food and drink sales last year in the UK - up significantly from just 0.35% in 1996. Fruit and vegetable sales accounted for 41% of all organic sales last year. Nearly 40% of all baby food sold in the UK last year was organic, nearly double the percentage reported just a year earlier. The researchers found that fewer than 30% of consumers have never purchased organic food and about 40% would purchase organics more often if they were cheaper. (Source: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 4, No. 129)

Virginia Turf Survey

The Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service has released a survey of pesticide use on Virginia golf courses and sod farms. Fungicides were the most commonly used pesticides, with 252,000 lbs. used during 1998. This was followed with herbicides at 104,000 lbs., and insecticides at nearly 23,000 lbs. The survey determined that only a small percentage of the total turf acreage was treated in 1998. Of the treated acreage, 9% of the turf was treated with fungicides, 17% received herbicide applications and 5% was treated with insecticides. Copies of the turfgrass survey may be requested by phone at (804) 786-4845, by fax at (804) 371-8598, or by e-mail at dschweitzer@vdacs.state.va.us. (Source: Pesticide & Toxic Chemical News, Vol. 30, Number 8.)

Cancellations and Modifications of Dimethoate, Disulfton and Naled

Dimothoate - Dimethoate is a systemic organophosphate insecticide primarily used on a variety of field and orchard agricultural crops and ornamentals. Registrants have requested to cancel dimethoate residential uses including any use in or around a structure used as a residence or domestic dwelling or any article or areas associated with such structures (i.e. home gardens), and any use in public or private buildings or structures (including recreational facilities, theaters, etc.) or areas associated with such structures (i.e. landscaping and playgrounds). Agricultural uses proposed for cancellation are housefly treatments on farm buildings and structures, farm animal quarters and manure piles.

Disulfoton - Disulfoton is an insecticide and acaricide primarily used on a variety of field grown agricultural crops, ornamentals and Christmas trees. Bayer Corporation has requested to delete certain crop uses including dry beans, peas, lentils, poplars grown for pulpwood, sorghum, soybeans, tobacco and triticale. Value Garden Supply, LLC, has requested to cancel two lawn and garden products containing disulfoton.

Naled - Naled is an insecticide and acaricide primarily used to control mosquitoes. Sergeant's Pet Products, Inc., has requested to cancel four flea and tick pet collar products containing naled. EPA's review of these pesticides can be obtained at www.epa.gov/pesticides

Pesticide Crop Watch

Insecticides

Merit (imidachloprid) - Bayer has included additional labeling that includes usage on sod farms.

Orthene (acephate) -- EPA received a request from Valent to voluntarily cancel the uses on residential indoor and turfgrass sites (except golf courses, sod farms and mound treatment for harvester and fire ant control)

Talstar (befenthrin) - FMC has a new granular formulation (Talstar EZ) for lawn and general household pests. Talstar F is the new name for Talstar Lawn & Tree Flowable Insecticide/Miticide.

Herbicides

Koban/Successor (pethoxamid) - Tohuyama has this new pre and early post emergence herbicide used to control grasses and broadleaf weeds in corn and soybeans.

Metgard (metsulfuron-methyl) - Makhteshim has a new formulation for total vegetation control for use on turf, forests, rangelands, grasslands and pastures. It is a 60 DF formulation.

Prism (clethodim ) - Valent added to their label usage on canola, flax, mustard seed, leaf lettuce, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.

Fungicides

Blocker 4F (PCNB) - Amvac added to their label use on potatoes to control stem canker/black scurf by hand application in the seed furrow at planting time.

Cuprofix Disperse (basic copper sulfate) - Cerexagri has a new DF formulation fungicide bactericide for use on turf and ornamentals.

Maneb - Due to the high cost of re-registration, the manufacturers have voluntarily withdrawn the support of golf course uses.

Topsin-M (thiophanate-methyl) - Cerexagri added to their label usage on pears, pistachios, celery and grapes.

Growth Regulators

B-Nine (daminozide) Uniroyal has updated a new label not to restrict usages of this growth regulator to only containers when applied in enclosed areas, but is restricted to containers in production areas not under cover.

Upcoming Events

Recertification Schools

Columbus - Columbus Convention Center

Urban & Public Operators - January 30, 2002

Agriculture - January 31, 2002

Commercial New Applicator School

March 13 - 14, 2002 at the Fawcett Center, OSU Campus

March 13 - Special video conference link at the Southwest District Office, Vandalia

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