Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)

Scope

With certain exceptions, a pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest, or intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, or desiccant, or any nitrogen stabilizer. Among other things, FIFRA requires:

• All pesticides sold or distributed in the United States (including imported pesticides) to be registered by EPA,
• Training for workers in pesticide-treated areas, and
• Certification and training for applicators of restricted use pesticides.

Regulatory citations

• 40 CFR 150 to 189 — Pesticide programs

Key definitions

• Applicant: A person who applies for a registration or amended registration under FIFRA sec. 3.
• Pesticide: Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest, or intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, other than any article that: (1) Is a new animal drug under FFDCA sec. 201(w), or (2) Is an animal drug that has been determined by regulation of the Secretary of Health and Human Services not to be a new animal drug, or (3) Is an animal feed under FFDCA sec. 201(x) that bears or contains any substances described by paragraph (s)(1) or (2) of this section.
• Package or packaging: The immediate container or wrapping, including any attached closure(s), in which the pesticide is contained for distribution, sale, consumption, use, or storage. The term does not include any shipping or bulk container used for transporting or delivering the pesticide unless it is the only such package.
• Pesticide product: A pesticide in the particular form (including composition, packaging, and labeling) in which the pesticide is, or is intended to be, distributed or sold. The term includes any physical apparatus used to deliver or apply the pesticide if distributed or sold with the pesticide.

Summary of requirements

Below is a summary of the programs required by FIFRA:

• Labeling — All registered pesticide products must display labels that show the following information clearly and prominently:
  • Name, brand, or trademark product sold under
  • Name and address of the producer or registrant
  • Net contents
  • Product registration number
  • Producing establishment’s number
  • Ingredient statement
  • Warning or precautionary statements
  • Directions for use
  • Use classification
  
  By regulation, EPA promulgated various requirements pertaining to pesticide labels. These regulations have requirements for warning statements and mandate that pesticide products have adequate use directions. Labels may include, for example, instructions requiring the wearing of protective clothing, handling instructions, and instructions setting a period before workers may re-enter fields after the application of pesticides. For more information on labeling requirements, see 40 CFR 156.10(h) and (i).
• Packaging — Since 1981, FIFRA has required most residential-use pesticides with a signal word of “danger” or “warning” to be in child-resistant packaging (CRP). CRP is designed to prevent most children under 5 years old from gaining access to the pesticide, or at least delay their access. FIFRA 25(c)(3) authorizes EPA to establish standards with respect to the package, container, or wrapping in which a pesticide or device is enclosed to protect children and adults from serious injury or illness resulting from accidental ingestion or contact with pesticides or devices regulated under FIFRA. Additionally, 25(c)(3) requires EPA’s CRP standards to be consistent with those established under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970.
• Worker protection standards — Facilities that handle pesticides must adopt workplace practices designed to reduce or eliminate exposure to pesticides and must establish procedures for responding to exposure-related emergencies. FIFRA prohibits registration of pesticides that generally pose unreasonable risks to people, including agricultural workers, or the environment. EPA uses two primary resources to protect agricultural workers:
  • Pesticide-specific restrictions and label requirements
  • Broadly applicable Worker Protection Standards (WPS)
  
  If EPA believes the risks to workers posed by a pesticide are excessive, it can take actions such as requiring additional label warnings or requiring labeling that mandates use of protective clothing. The WPS specifically address how to reduce the risk of illness or injury resulting from occupational exposures to pesticides used in the production of agricultural plants on farms, in nurseries, in greenhouses, and in forests, and from the accidental exposure of workers and other persons to such pesticides. The standards establish ventilation criteria, entry restrictions, personal protective equipment guidelines, and information display requirements.
• Registration of pesticides — No person in any state may distribute or sell to any person any pesticide that is not registered pursuant to section 3 of FIFRA. EPA may, by regulation, limit the distribution, sale, or use in any state of any pesticide that is not registered and that is not the subject of an experimental use permit under section 5 of FIFRA or an emergency exception under section 18 of FIFRA.
• Experimental use permits — EPA has the authority to issue permits to applicants for conducting thankss that are needed to collect the information necessary to register a pesticide. States can submit a plan to EPA to receive authorization to issue experimental use permits. States cannot issue permits for pesticides suspended or canceled by EPA.
• Use of restricted use pesticides — Applicators — Another action that EPA may take is to classify a pesticide as a “restricted use” pesticide, which means that only certified pesticide applicators or those under the supervision of a certified pesticide applicator may use the pesticide. Only certified applicators may use restricted use registered pesticides. Certification is a statement by the certifying agency that the applicator is competent and authorized to use or supervise the use of restricted pesticides. EPA establishes the certification standards, but any state with a State Certification Plan approved by EPA can establish its own program, if the program meets EPA standards. Each state must submit a plan for applicator certification to the EPA Administrator for approval. If EPA does not approve the plan, then EPA conducts the certification program for all applicators of registered pesticides.
• Unlawful acts — Unlawful acts include, among other things, the following:
  • Distributing or selling to any person a pesticide that is not registered
  • Operating with a registration that has been canceled or suspended
  • Detaching, destroying or defacing any required labeling
  • Refusing to prepare, maintain or submit any required records
  • Refusing to allow any entry, inspection, copying of records or authorized sampling
• Exemption of federal and state agencies — EPA may exempt any federal or state agency from any provision of FIFRA if the EPA Administrator determines that emergency conditions that require such an exemption exist.
• Storage, disposal, transportation, and recall — FIFRA stipulates that EPA has the authority to establish regulations and procedures regarding pesticide storage and disposal. Section 19 of FIFRA authorizes EPA to collect information and establish requirements for the storage, disposal, transportation, and packaging of pesticides. The objective of the regulations and recommendations is to provide procedures for storage, disposal, and transportation that adequately protect public health and the environment. FIFRA disposal regulations are implemented rarely and only in the context of risk-based and time-limited cancellations. Pesticide wastes generally are subject to the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
• Authority of states — A state may regulate the sale or use of any registered pesticide within the state. However, the regulation on the sale and use of the pesticide must not permit any sale or use prohibited by FIFRA. In addition, the state shall not impose any requirements for labeling or packaging in addition to, or different from, those imposed by FIFRA. A state may register additional uses of a federally registered pesticide within the state to meet local needs unless EPA previously denied, disapproved, or canceled such use.