Northwest Horticultural Council
Chemical and Food Safety Alerts
EPA Expected to Issue New Rules Reinstating Chlorpyrifos Tolerance on Apples
On December 19, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted an update regarding chlorpyrifos. It stated the 8th Circuit Court issued a ruling vacating the EPA’s ban on all food tolerances of chlorpyrifos. EPA is expected to reissue a new rule to revoke tolerances associated with all but eleven uses, including apples, noted by the court. EPA has not yet provided a timeline for issuing use cancelations or approving amended labels to reflect these limitations, but the agency says it will provide additional information as it becomes available.
As specified in the December 2023 update, EPA is working with registrants towards limiting the use of chlorpyrifos to the 11 critical/high benefit uses noted in the 2020 Proposed Interim Registration Review Decision (PID) limited to specific geographic areas. Those 11 uses are: alfalfa, apple, asparagus, cherry (tart), citrus, cotton, peach, soybean, strawberry, sugar beet, wheat (spring), and wheat (winter). They also expect rate changes and maximum applications per year to align with what was evaluated in the 2020 drinking water assessment. So, there will be additional restrictions that may include all the above plus endangered species and farmworker and other vulnerable populations mitigations.
EPA is currently working to issue a Federal Register notice correcting the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect the court’s reinstatement of chlorpyrifos tolerances. However, it is still unclear if that notice will be announced in time for the 2024 growing season, and if so, what that may mean for use of chlorpyrifos on apples.
According to the court’s mandate, issued on December 28, 2023, currently registered chlorpyrifos products with instructions for food uses can be used, however it is our understanding that there are no currently registered products for apples. In addition, EPA has not provided any further guidance on whether chlorpyrifos can be applied to food crops (and, if so, geographically where) in response to the court decision, other than to say “At this time, final cancelations orders, including their terms for existing stocks of products subject to those cancelation orders, and related return programs for chlorpyrifos products, remain in place, unless and until amended by EPA.”
More information can be found on the EPA’s chlorpyrifos website.
The NHC will provide updates as we learn more about this issue. If you have any questions, please contact Virna Stillwaugh, vice president for scientific affairs, at 509-453-3193.
Posted: 1/10/2024
