Application for Emergency Exemption: Propoxur

Federal Register: January 6, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 3)

Notices

Page 858-859

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

DOCID:fr06ja10-35

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0856; FRL-8802-9

Propoxur; Receipt of Application for Emergency Exemption;

Solicitation of Public Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: EPA has received a public health exemption request from the

Ohio Department of Agriculture to use the pesticide propoxur (CAS No. 114-26-1) to treat indoor residential single or multiple unit dwellings, apartments, hotels, motels, office buildings, modes of transportation, and commercial industrial buildings to control bed bugs

(Cimex lectularius). The applicant proposes a use of a pesticide which was voluntarily canceled under section 6(f) of the Federal Insecticide,

Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and which poses a risk similar to the risk which was voluntarily canceled under section 6(f) of FIFRA.

EPA is soliciting public comment before making the decision whether or not to grant the exemption.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 21, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket identification

(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0856, by one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.

Mail: Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public

Docket (7502P), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania

Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001.

Delivery: OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P),

Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400, One Potomac Yard (South

Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. Deliveries are only accepted during the Docket Facility's normal hours of operation (8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays).

Special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.

Instructions: Direct your comments to docket ID number EPA-HQ-OPP- 2009-0856. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the docket without change and may be made available on-line at http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be

Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through regulations.gov or e- mail. The regulations.gov website is an ``anonymous access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e- mail comment directly to EPA without going through regulations.gov, your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the docket and made available on the

Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the docket index available at http://www.regulations.gov. Although listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be publicly available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials are available either in the electronic docket at http://www.regulations.gov, or, if only available in hard copy, at the OPP Regulatory Public Docket in Rm. S-4400, One Potomac

Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr., Arlington, VA. The hours of operation of this Docket Facility are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The Docket Facility telephone number is (703) 305-5805.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Princess Campbell, Registration

Division (7505P), Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460- 0001; telephone number: (703) 308-8033; fax number: (703) 605-0781; e- mail address: Campbell.Princess@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. General Information

   1. Does this Action Apply to Me?

      You may be potentially affected by this action if you are an agricultural producer, food manufacturer, or pesticide manufacturer.

      Potentially affected entities may include, but are not limited to:

      Crop production (NAICS code 111).

      Animal production (NAICS code 112).

      Food manufacturing (NAICS code 311).

      Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS code 32532).

      This listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather provides a guide for readers regarding entities likely to be affected by this action. Other types of entities not listed in this unit could also be affected. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes have been provided to assist you and others in determining whether this action might apply to certain entities. If you have any questions regarding the applicability of this action to a particular entity, consult

      Page 859

      the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

   2. What Should I Consider as I Prepare My Comments for EPA? 1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or

      CD-ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as

      CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as

      CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.

      Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. 2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, remember to: i. Identify the document by docket ID number and other identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number). ii. Follow directions. The Agency may ask you to respond to specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of

      Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number. iii. Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives and substitute language for your requested changes. iv. Describe any assumptions and provide any technical information and/or data that you used. v. If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be reproduced. vi. Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and suggest alternatives. vii. Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the use of profanity or personal threats. viii. Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline identified. 3. Environmental justice. EPA seeks to achieve environmental justice, the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of any group, including minority and/or low income populations, in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. To help address potential environmental justice issues, the

      Agency seeks information on any groups or segments of the population who, as a result of their location, cultural practices, or other factors, may have atypical or disproportionately high and adverse human health impacts or environmental effects from exposure to the pesticide discussed in this document, compared to the general population.

2. What Action is the Agency Taking?

   Under section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and

   Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. 136p), at the discretion of the

   Administrator, a Federal or State agency may be exempted from any provision of FIFRA if the Administrator determines that emergency conditions exist which require the exemption. The Ohio Department of

   Agriculture (DOA) has requested the Administrator to issue a public health exemption for the use of propoxur on indoor residential single or multiple unit dwellings, apartments, hotels, motels, office buildings, modes of transportation, and commercial industrial buildings to control bed bugs. Information in accordance with 40 CFR part 166 was submitted as part of this request.

   As part of this request, the applicant asserts that an emergency exemption is warranted because of the prevalence of control failures with other existing labeled insecticides, in part due to pyrethroid resistance in the bed bug population. Bed bugs are parasitic, blood- sucking insects that prefer humans as a host and tend to inhabit human dwellings. For several decades, pyrethroids have been used to manage the bed bug population in the United States. Since the late 1990s, bed bugs have begun making a comeback, largely due to their development of extremely high levels of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides. Thus, these parasitic insects have been growing rapidly and have re-emerged as a major pest in many towns and cities in Ohio. The ODA states that currently available insecticides are inadequate for the control of bed bugs and resulted in a crisis that poses grave economic concerns, quality of life issues, and potential health risks to the residents of the state. The ODA claims propoxur is one of the few insecticidal ingredients showing excellent activity against bed bugs and would provide an effective insecticide in a different chemical class for bed bug control.

   The Applicant proposes to make applications year-round with a 14- day retreatment restriction. Three propoxur products will be used (all containing 1% propoxur):

   Prenbay 1% Oil Solution (EPA Reg. No. 655-546) manufactured by Prentiss Inc.

   Invader HPX (EPA Reg. No. 9444-186) manufactured by FMC

   Corp.

   Prescription Treatment Brand 250 Propoxur (EPA Reg. No. 499-501) manufactured by Whitmire Micro-gen Research Lab. Inc.

   These products would be applied as a crack and crevice or spot treatment to indoor residential single or multiple unit dwellings, apartments, hotels, motels, office buildings, modes of transportation, and commercial industrial buildings. Application of the products would be applied in quantities sufficient to manage the bed bug infestation in Ohio.

   This notice does not constitute a decision by EPA on the application itself. The regulations governing section 18 of FIFRA require publication of a notice of receipt of an application for a public health exemption proposing a use of a pesticide which was voluntarily canceled under section 6(f) of FIFRA, and which poses a risk similar to the risk which was voluntarily canceled under section 6(f) of FIFRA.

   The notice provides an opportunity for public comment on the application.

   The Agency, will review and consider all comments received during the comment period in determining whether to issue the public health exemption requested by the ODA.

   List of Subjects

   Environmental protection, Pesticides and pests.

   Dated: December 24, 2009.

   Lois Rossi,

   Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.

   FR Doc. E9-31395 Filed 1-5-10; 8:45 am

   BILLING CODE 6560-50-S