Pesticide product labels provide critical information about how to safely and legally handle and use pesticide products. A pesticide product’s label is of utmost importance as the label is the primary mechanism to inform the end-user about how to use and apply the product to achieve the product’s useful functions, as well as which precautions must be followed to protect both human health and the environment.
Unlike most other types of product labels, pesticide labels are legally enforceable, and all of them carry the statement: “It is a violation of Federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.” In other words, the label is the law.
As part of any pesticide registration application submitted to EPA, applicants must provide a proposed label containing detailed information. The agency ensures that the pesticide label translates scientific data about the potential health and environmental effects of a pesticide into a set of conditions, directions, precautions, and restrictions that define who may use a pesticide, as well as where, how, how much, and how often it may be used. During its review, EPA may approve the label as submitted, approve the label with comments, or disapprove the submitted label.
Ultimately, the accuracy of a label is vital as it may impact:
Every pesticide product must bear a label containing the information specified by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. 136 et seq., and its implementing regulations at 40 CFR 156. FIFRA and Part 156 govern what must be included on pesticide labels. Other EPA documents such as Pesticide Registration Notices (PR Notices or PRN) and EPA’s Label Review Manual provide guidance on what should be included on pesticide labels.
Note: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200 has direct authority over safety data sheets (SDS), formerly called material safety data sheets (MSDS). When an SDS is distributed with a pesticide it becomes a part of the pesticide labeling because it is accompanying the product. Therefore, if an SDS includes warnings, precautions or any other information that conflict with the FIFRA-approved label, it could be misleading to users of the pesticide and therefore cause the pesticide to be considered misbranded and unlawful for sale or distribution. For example, in 2012 OSHA adopted a revised Hazard Communication Rule for SDSs which utilizes the criteria for signal words adopted by multiple countries under the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for hazard communication language and symbols. EPA has not adopted the GHS criteria, and thus an OSHA SDS may have a signal word that differs from the one EPA requires for a pesticide product label. PR Notice 2012-1 explains how a company can explain and justify such a difference if it occurs in order to prevent users from being misled by the inconsistencies.