The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is a United States federal law that set up the basic U.S. system of pesticide regulation to protect applicators, consumers, and the environment. It is administered and regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the appropriate environmental agencies of the respective states. During World War II there was a marked increase in the pesticide market, as wartime research and development produced many chemicals with newly discovered insecticidal properties. Congress passed the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act in 1947 to address some of the shortcomings of the Federal Insecticide Act. In 1988, Congress amended the pesticide registration provisions requiring re-registration of many pesticides that had been registered before 1984. The act was amended again in 1996 by the Food Quality Protection Act. More recently the act was amended in 2012 by the Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act of 2012.

As of May 2007, there are 28 listed restricted pesticides of different formulas and mixtures. Any area these pesticides are used or applied is considered a restricted area.

Major code sections

Table 2. Major U.S. Code Sections of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (codified generally as 7 U.S.C. 136-136y)

{| class="wikitable"

!7 U.S.C.

!Section Title

!FIFRA

|-

|

|Short title and table of contents

|Section 1

|-

|136

|Definitions

|Section 2

|-

|136a

|Registration of pesticides

|Section 3

|-

|136a-1

|Reregistration of registered pesticides

|Section 4

|-

|136c

|Experimental use permits

|Section 5

|-

|136d

|Administration review; suspension

|Section 6

|-

|136e

|Registration of establishments

|Section 7

|-

|136f

|Books and records

|Section 8

|-

|136g

|Inspection of establishments

|Section 9

|-

|136h

|Protection of trade secrets and other information

|Section 10

|-

|136i

|Restricted use pesticides; applicators

|Section 11

|-

|136j

|Unlawful acts

|Section 12

|-

|136k

|Stop sale, use, removal, and seizure

|Section 13

|-

|136l

|Penalties

|Section 14

|-

|136m

|Indemnities

|Section 15

|-

|136n

|Administrative procedure; judicial review

|Section 16

|-

|136o

|Exemption of federal and state agencies

|Section 17

|-

|136p

|Exemption of federal and state agencies

|Section 18

|-

|136q

|Storage, disposal, transportation, and recall

|Section 19

|-

|136r

|Research and monitoring

|Section 20

|-

|136s

|Solicitation of comments; notice of public hearings

|Section 21

|-

|136t

|Delegation and cooperation

|Section 22

|-

|136u

|State cooperation, aid, and training

|Section 23

|-

|136v

|Authority of states

|Section 24

|-

|136w

|Authority of Administrator

|Section 25

|-

|136w-1

|State primary enforcement responsibility

|Section 26

|-

|136w-2

|Failure by the state to assure enforcement of state pesticides use regulations

|Section 27

|-

|136w-3

|Identification of pests; cooperation with Department of Agriculture's program

|Section 28

|-

|136w-4

|Annual report

|Section 29

|-

|136w-5

|Minimum requirements for training of maintenance applicators and service technicians

|Section 30

|-

|136w-6

|Environmental Protection Agency minor use program

|Section 31

|-

|136w-7

|Department of Agriculture minor use program

|Section 32

|-

|136w-8

|Pesticide Registration Service Fees

|Section 33

|-

|136x

|Severability

|Section 34

|-

|136y

|Authorization of Appropriations

|Section 35

|}

Note: This table shows only the major code sections. For more detail and to determine when a section was

added, the reader should consult the official printed version of the U.S. Code.

Regulations

In order to be considered for use, pesticides had to undergo 120 tests with regards to safety and its actual effectiveness. Because of these rigorous test, only 1 in 139,000 actually make it through to be used in agriculture. This act directly forbids certain substances and certain uses of those substances, as distinguished from other legislation regulating pesticides, which impose costs on certain practices but do not outlaw any.

FIFRA established a set of pesticide regulations:

  1. FIFRA established registration for all pesticides, which is only done after a period of data collection to determine the effectiveness for its intended use, appropriate dosage, and hazards of the particular material. When registered, a label is created to instruct the final user the proper usage of the material. If instructions are ignored, users are liable for any negative consequences. <br/>Label directions are designed to maximize the effectiveness of the product, while protecting the applicator, consumers, and the environment.
  2. Only a few pesticides are made available to the general public. Most pesticides are considered too hazardous for general use, and are restricted to certified applicators. FIFRA established a system of examination and certification both at the private level and at the commercial level for applicators who wish to purchase and use restricted use pesticides. The distribution of restricted pesticides is also monitored.
  3. The EPA has different review processes for three categories of pesticides: antimicrobials, biopesticides, and conventional pesticides. The three categories have a similar application process, but have different data requirements and review policies. Depending on the category of pesticide, the review process can take several years. After a pesticide is registered with the EPA, there may be state registration requirements to consider.
  4. In addition to the rules and regulations given by the EPA, the states may also offer an additional set of rules and registration requirements for a registered pesticide. They can also request annual usage reports from the pesticide users.

In addition to the FIFRA, the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 amended the authorized fees for certain products, assessed the process of collecting maintenance fees, and decided on a review process for approving the pesticides. The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2007 renewed these changes to stay in place until 2012. The purpose of the PRIA is to ensure a smooth implementation of pesticide rules and regulations to its users.

Import and export

Pesticides intended for import into the U.S. require a complete Notice of Arrival (NOA) through U.S. Customs and Border Protection. If this NOA is not complete the product would not make it through customs. The NOA lists the identity of the product, the amount within the package, the date of arrival, and where it can be inspected. There are also other rules listed below:

  1. It must comply with standards set with the U.S. pesticide law
  2. The pesticide has to be registered with the EPA, except if it's on the exemption list
  3. It cannot be adulterated or violative
  4. There must be proper labeling
  5. The product must have been produced in an EPA registered establishment that files annually

Pesticides intended for export to other parts of the world do not have a registration requirement under certain conditions. The conditions are as follows:

  1. The foreign purchaser has to submit a statement to the EPA stating it knows the product is not registered and can't be sold on U.S. soil.
  2. The pesticide must contain a label that "Not Registered for Use in the United States"
  3. The label requirements must be met and the label must contain the English language and the language of the receiving country(ies).
  4. The pesticide must comply with all FIFRA establishment registration and reporting requirements
  5. It must comply with FIFRA record keeping requirements
  • Note: An EPA registered establishment is one that produces pesticides, the active ingredients in pesticides, and devices for pesticide use and reports initial and annual production. The objective of this project is to "determine whether the EPA's Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) import inspection program is effectively deterring, identifying and confiscating illegal pesticide imports, to protect human health and the environment."

Registration of pesticide products

Before a company can register its pesticide products with the EPA, it must know what the EPA considers a pesticide under the law. According to section 2(u) of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. section 136(u), the term "pesticide" is defined as the following:

  1. any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest,
  2. any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, and
  3. any nitrogen stabilizer, except that the term "pesticide" shall not include any article that is a "new animal drug" within the meaning of section 321(w)[1] of title 21, that has been determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services not to be a new animal drug by a regulation establishing conditions of use for the article, or that is an animal feed within the meaning of section 321(x)[1] of title 21 bearing or containing a new animal drug. The term "pesticide" does not include liquid chemical sterilant products (including any sterilant or subordinate disinfectant claims on such products) for use on a critical or semi-critical device, as defined in section 321 of title 21. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term "critical device" includes any device which is introduced directly into the human body, either into or in contact with the bloodstream or normally sterile areas of the body and the term "semi-critical device" includes any device which contacts intact mucous membranes but which does not ordinarily penetrate the blood barrier or otherwise enter normally sterile areas of the body.

An applicant will have to prove that the pesticide active ingredient, pesticide product, or proposed new use of a registered pesticide will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on human health and environment. There is considerable public interest in the contents of pesticide registration studies, which has led to conflict over public access to these materials. These competing interests as well as legislation addressing access has been covered separately under Pesticide regulation in the United States. In some cases, manufacturers choose to conduct addition work to satisfy requirements for peer-reviewed literature, as was the case for the herbicide, cloransulam-methyl. Publication of registration studies in the peer-reviewed literature not only provides unlimited public access, but also ensures sufficient rigor to satisfy the scientific community at large.

Under Section 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), the EPA can also regulate the amount of pesticide residues permissible on or in food/feed items, by establishing a "safe" level meaning there is "a reasonable certainty of no harm" from the exposure to the residue whether directly from the consumption of such food or from other non-occupational sources. The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), amended FIFRA to require all older pesticides to cause no harm to infants, children, and sensitive individuals within "reasonable certainty". More than 200 EPA registered pesticides recommends specific addition of one or more adjuvants into the pesticidal mixture to improve overall efficacy.