Pesticide Reporting
New Guidelines for Reporting Pesticide Incidents
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: Transmittal of Guidance for Inspecting Alleged Cases of Pesticide-Related Bee Incidents
FROM: Lisa Lund, Director Office of Compliance
I am pleased to distribute the attached guidance for inspecting alleged cases of pesticide-related bee incidents in time for spring and summer incident investigations. This guidance is a supplement to the national Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Inspection Manual. It presents unique considerations that federal, state and tribal inspectors should examine when investigating bee deaths that may be related to pesticide use. I request that you distribute this guidance to your state lead agencies and tribal pesticide programs and encourage you to discuss implementation of this guidance with them . We hope that using this guidance will make federal, state and tribal investigations of pesticide-related bee incidents more effective and efficient and help beekeepers , growers, and other stakeholders better understand the inspection process and the challenges associated with these complex investigations.
Strengthening our investigation of bee incidents through the implementation of this guidance is an important element of the U.S . Environmental Protection Agency's Pollinator Protection Strategic Plan. This plan includes working collaboratively with beekeepers, growers, pesticide manufacturers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, states and tribes to enhance pollinator protection.
The development of the guidance was led by Region 5 Land and Chemicals Division with staff from Region 5 Regional Counsel , Headquarters' Offices of Pesticide Program s and Enforcement and Compliance Assurance and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
In addition, the State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) and the Tribal Pesticide Program Council (TPPC) reviewed a draft of the guidance and provided comments.
If you have any questions or comments on the guidance, please contact Ed Messina, Director of the Monitoring, Assistance and Media Programs Division at (202) 564-2300, or have staff contact Carol Galloway, OC at (913) 551-5092, or Margaret Jones, Region 5, at (3 12) 353-5790.
Beekeepers are encouraged to report all bee kills.
Recently there has been a vacant position concerning incident reporting filled by Robert A. Miller, Environmental Protection Specialist, Office of Pesticide Programs/EFED.
AHPA has been working with Bob providing input for the National Pesticide Information Center web-site. Though it is a work in progress there have been many improvements. Bob is encouraging all beekeepers any time they have a bee-kill concerning pesticides to fill out a report at http://npic.orst.edu/. Besides NPIC, a beekeeper can send an email to beekill@epa.gov or to Bob at miller.robert@epa.gov to report a bee-kill in which pesticides are suspected. If you need help concerning navigating the NPIC website you may call Bob at 703-347-8012 and he will gladly walk you through the process.
Although beekeepers should first report bee-kills to their State Lead Agencies, EPA really encourages beekeepers to report their pesticide incidents to the national data base as well. You can go to the NPIC website and find all of the state contact information where the incident occurred for reporting an incident first.
AHPA, NHBAB and NPDF have been hard at work concerning label enforcement and this is part of the process to make REAL change to a broken system.
The objectives of NPIC are:
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To serve as a factual source of information for diverse professional and public audiences on pesticide-related issues;
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To operate a toll-free, bi-lingual telephone information service for all callers in the United States and its territories, Monday through Friday at least 4 hours per day, with accessibility to voicemail during closed hours, and ability to address inquiries through e-mail and social media;
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To develop and maintain English and Spanish websites accessible to broad audiences and host NPIC original content, state-of-the-art information technology tools and links to unbiased and authoritative sources of information about pesticides;
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To collect robust pesticide incident data through systematic protocols and to disseminate the information through scheduled reporting and by request from U.S. EPA and partner agencies;
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To conduct our service professionally, with an emphasis on teamwork, integrity and accountability, and a strong commitment to collaboration and exceptional customer service.
NPIC is committed to making science-based information available to the public and professionals using appropriate and timely technologies. On this page, you will find our collection of web applications that have been optimized for use with mobile devices. Developed in HTML5, they are compatible with iPhone, Android, and other phones and tablets.
Web apps work within a browser such as Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Chrome. Simply visit the web page hyperlinked below to use the app whenever you like. Bookmark the app or this hub page for future use. This way, you'll never have to download updates. They will happen automatically.
Available Web Apps:
Pesticide Education & Search Tool (PEST)
Designed for the general public as they search for pest control solutions, this app brings together product search functions and new pest control information, written by NPIC. Users are prompted to pick a pest or pick a product. When you pick a pest, you’ll find a bullet list of action items grounded in integrated pest management (IPM). When you pick a product, you’ll find a one-stop interface with options to view the formulation, ingredients, the signal word, and the pests controlled by the product. Interpretive statements make the technical information easy to understand.
Mobile Access to Pesticides and Labels (MAPL)
Search for pesticide products by name, site, pest, EPA Registration Number, registrant, or search for a combination of these. For example, search for products registered for use in apple orchards against fire blight, or products with citronella that can be used on horses. When you find the right product, you can bookmark the results, bring up the federal label (pdf), and browse the product’s ingredients, registered use sites, signal word, formulation, and more. This web app is optimized for mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, and works on desktop computers as well.
Insect Repellent Locator (IRL)
Find information about all of the products registered to repel mosquitoes, ticks, or both. Refine results by selecting the desired protection time, from < 2 hours to > 10 hours. Click on the active ingredient name to review it's potential health and environmental impacts, or click "Load PDF" to see the product's official label. Once you find the perfect product for you, use the manufacturer's name to find their contact information.
Something similar for bigger screens: Insect Repellent Locator
Pesticide and Local Services (PALS)
One-click dialing! Find pals in your state to help you 1) report pesticide incidents, 2) get pest control advice, 3) learn about area-wide pest control in your neighborhood, 4) get licensed to apply pesticides or contact pesticide law enforcement professionals, 5) determine whether pesticide poisonings are "reportable" in your state, 6) comply with occupational standards and select appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment), and 7) dispose of unwanted pesticides.
Something similar for bigger screens:My Local Resources
NPIC Contact Information:
· Call us (toll free): 800-858-7378
We have trained pesticide specialists available to help you free of charge from 8:00am to 12:00pm Pacific Standard Time, Mon. - Fri.
· E-mail us: npic@ace.orst.edu
· To be informed when resources are added or updated, please subscribe to our notification list. Send us an e-mail to npicupdates@ace.orst.edu with the word "subscribe" in the subject or body of the message and we'll add you to the list. This is a low-volume notification mailing list only, not a discussion list.
· Or send us postal mail:
National Pesticide Information Center
Oregon State University
310 Weniger Hall
Corvallis, OR 97331-6502