Federal

Protect America's Children from Toxic Pesticides Act

Source: Congress.gov · 8,340 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes how the EPA registers and regulates pesticides to better protect children and the environment. It requires the EPA to suspend pesticides that pose health risks if their safety reviews are not completed on time, bans three specific classes of pesticides immediately, and requires the EPA to suspend pesticides that other developed countries have already banned.

Who It Affects

- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Pesticide manufacturers and registrants - Farmworkers and agricultural workers - Children and families exposed to pesticides - State and local governments - Food producers and agricultural businesses

Key Provisions

- The EPA must immediately suspend pesticides that may cause cancer, acute toxicity, hormone disruption, harm to pregnant women or fetuses, or neurological damage if their required 15-year safety reviews are not completed on time (Sec. 3) - Organophosphate pesticides are immediately and permanently banned, with sales of existing supplies prohibited within 6 months (Sec. 9) - Neonicotinoid pesticides (imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, acetamiprid, sulfoxaflor, and flupyradifurane) are immediately and permanently banned, with sales of existing supplies prohibited within 6 months (Sec. 10) - Paraquat pesticide is immediately and permanently banned, with sales of existing supplies prohibited within 6 months (Sec. 11) - Pesticide labels must list all inert ingredients by name and percentage, and must be printed in English and Spanish (Sec. 8 and Sec. 13) - Employers must report farmworker incidents (illnesses, injuries, or deaths from pesticide exposure) to the EPA within specified timeframes, with civil penalties of $1,000 per day for failure to report starting on day 8 after an incident, and criminal penalties up to $100,000 and 6 months in prison for knowing failures (Sec. 13) - Emergency exemptions that allow use of unregistered or conditionally registered pesticides are restricted to a maximum of 2 years in any 10-year period for the same pesticide in the same location (Sec. 7) - Conditional pesticide registrations are limited to 2 years maximum, and any existing conditional registrations not yet completed are canceled immediately (Sec. 5) - The EPA must immediately suspend the registration of pesticides banned or being phased out in the European Union or Canada, and must cancel that registration within 2 years unless it determines the foreign ban was "clearly erroneous" (Sec. 4) - States and local governments are allowed to enact stricter pesticide restrictions than federal law (Sec. 12)

What Changes

If passed, this bill immediately cancels all organophosphate, neonicotinoid, and paraquat pesticides currently registered in the United States. The sales and use of existing supplies of these pesticides is prohibited. Conditional pesticide registrations that have not been completed are automatically canceled. Pesticide labels must now include the names and percentages of all inert (inactive) ingredients and must be printed in both English and Spanish. The EPA must suspend any pesticide banned in Europe or Canada and must cancel that pesticide within 2 years unless it finds the foreign ban was clearly wrong. Farmworker incidents must be reported to the EPA with serious penalties for non-reporting. States and cities can now create their own pesticide restrictions beyond federal rules.

Important Definitions

- **Dangerous pesticide**: An active ingredient or pesticide product that may be carcinogenic (cancer-causing), acutely toxic (poisonous), an endocrine disruptor (disrupts hormone systems), cause harm to pregnant women or fetuses, or cause neurological or developmental harm (Sec. 3) - **Registration review determination**: A final EPA decision to renew a pesticide's registration for an additional 15-year period from the previous registration or review (Sec. 3) - **Farmworker**: Any individual employed in agriculture, including pesticide users or applicators, of any age, including migrant and seasonal workers, regardless of full-time or part-time status (Sec. 13) - **Farmworker incident**: Exposure of a farmworker to a pesticide that results in an illness or injury requiring medical attention or hospitalization, a permanent disability, or death (Sec. 13) - **Conditional registration**: A temporary approval allowing a pesticide to be sold while the registrant completes outstanding safety testing requirements (Sec. 5) - **Neonicotinoid pesticides**: Seven active ingredients—imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, acetamiprid, sulfoxaflor, and flupyradifurone—and any pesticide products containing them (Sec. 10)

Effective Date

The bans on organophosphates, neonicotinoids, and paraquat take effect on the date the bill is signed into law. The EPA must set up the farmworker incident reporting system within 60 days of the bill becoming law. Conditional registrations must be canceled immediately upon the bill's enactment. Most other provisions take effect upon enactment unless otherwise specified in particular sections.

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 269 To amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to fully protect the safety of children and the environment, to remove dangerous pesticides from use, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 2, 2023 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to fully protect the safety of children and the environment, to remove dangerous pesticides from use, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect America’s Chil- 4 dren from Toxic Pesticides Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 269 IS (1) the Environmental Protection Agency (re- 1 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘EPA’’) regularly 2 fails to incorporate updated scientific understanding 3 to protect human health and the environment from 4 the harmful effects of pesticide products, as envi- 5 sioned by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 6 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.), resulting in 7 the use of billions of pounds of pesticides every year 8 that were approved based on outdated science; 9 (2) the United States lags behind the European 10 Union and other developed nations in protecting its 11 people and its environment from toxic chemicals, al- 12 lowing the use of 72 pesticides that have been 13 banned or are being phased out in the European 14 Union alone; 15 (3) the EPA registers nearly 65 percent of pes- 16 ticides through conditional registrations and fre- 17 quently waives requirements to extend the use of 18 conditional registrations prior to completion of com- 19 prehensive registration; 20 (4) the EPA permits the continued sale of po- 21 tentially dangerous stocks of pesticides after reg- 22 istration has been canceled, suspended, or otherwise 23 voided; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 269 IS (5) the EPA uses emergency exemptions to 1 keep pesticides on the market for years without un- 2 dergoing a comprehensive registration process that 3 would ensure the safe use of the pesticides; 4 (6) the EPA is prohibited from requiring the 5 disclosure of inert ingredients, even though inert in- 6 gredients can account for 99 percent of a pesticide 7 product and include carcinogenic and toxic chemi- 8 cals; 9 (7) scientists have repeatedly linked exposure to 10 organophosphate pesticides to neurodevelopmental 11 damage in children; 12 (8) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 13 and the National Marine Fisheries Service have de- 14 termined that organophosphate pesticides jeopardize 15 the survival of 97 percent of endangered species; 16 (9) neonicotinoid pesticides are contributing to 17 the rapid decline of pollinators and the deterioration 18 of pollinator health, including impaired foraging be- 19 havior and increased susceptibility to viruses, dis- 20 eases, and parasites; 21 (10) exposure to paraquat— 22 (A) causes heart failure, kidney failure, 23 liver failure, lung scarring, and damage to brain 24 cells; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 269 IS (B) greatly increases the risk of developing 1 Parkinson’s disease; 2 (11) local communities have been blocked by 3 States from enacting pesticide restrictions to protect 4 people and environment from toxic chemicals; and 5 (12) farmworkers are— 6 (A) disproportionately exposed to and 7 harmed by pesticide use; and 8 (B) afforded inadequate safeguards and 9 far less protection than industrial workers. 10 SEC. 3. ENDING INDEFINITE DELAYS ON REVIEW OF DAN- 11 GEROUS PESTICIDES. 12 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2 of the Federal In- 14 secticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 15 136) is amended— 16 (A) by striking subsection (z) and inserting 17 the following: 18 ‘‘(z) REGISTRATION.—The term ‘registration’ means 19 the approval of an active ingredient or pesticide product 20 under this Act— 21 ‘‘(1) that has not previously been registered 22 under this Act; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 269 IS ‘‘(2) for a crop or use for which the active in- 1 gredient or pesticide has not previously been reg- 2 istered under this Act.’’; 3 (B) by redesignating subsections (aa) 4 through (oo) as subsections (bb) through (pp), 5 respectively; and 6 (C) by inserting after subsection (z) the 7 following: 8 ‘‘(aa) REGISTRATION REVIEW DETERMINATION.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘registration re- 10 view determination’ means the final decision to 11 renew the registration of a pesticide product or ac- 12 tive ingredient to authorize the use of the pesticide 13 product or active ingredient— 14 ‘‘(A) for an additional 15-year period from 15 the date of the previous registration, reregistra- 16 tion, or registration review determination, as 17 applicable; and 18 ‘‘(B) in compliance with all applicable laws 19 and regulations. 20 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘registration re- 21 view determination’ does not include any interim de- 22 termination regarding the continued use of a pes- 23 ticide product or active ingredient by the Adminis- 24 trator.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 269 IS (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 1 (A) Section 2(e)(1) of the Federal Insecti- 2 cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 3 136(e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection 4 (ee)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (ff)’’. 5 (B) Section 3(h)(3)(E) of the Federal In- 6 secticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 7 U.S.C. 136a(h)(3)(E)) is amended by striking 8 ‘‘section 2(mm)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2(nn)’’. 9 (C) Section 33(b)(3) of the Federal Insec- 10 ticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 11 U.S.C. 136w–8(b)(3)) is amended— 12 (i) by striking ‘‘§2(mm)’’ each place it 13 appears and inserting ‘‘section 2(nn)’’; and 14 (ii) by striking ‘‘Section 2(ll)(2)’’ and 15 inserting ‘‘section 2(mm)(2)’’. 16 (b) SUSPENSION OF DANGEROUS PESTICIDES ON 17 FAILURE TO COMPLETE REGISTRATION REVIEW ON 18 TIME.—Section 4 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, 19 and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136a–1) is amended by 20 adding at the end the following: 21 ‘‘(o) SUSPENSION OF DANGEROUS PESTICIDES ON 22 FAILURE TO COMPLETE REGISTRATION REVIEW ON 23 TIME.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 269 IS ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF DANGEROUS PESTICIDE.— 1 In this subsection, the term ‘dangerous pesticide’ 2 means an active ingredient or pesticide product that 3 may— 4 ‘‘(A) be carcinogenic; 5 ‘‘(B) be acutely toxic; 6 ‘‘(C) be an endocrine disruptor; 7 ‘‘(D) cause harm to a pregnant woman or 8 a fetus; or 9 ‘‘(E) cause neurological or developmental 10 harm. 11 ‘‘(2) PETITIONS TO DESIGNATE DANGEROUS 12 PESTICIDES.— 13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An interested person 14 may submit a petition under section 553(e) of 15 title 5, United States Code, to designate an ac- 16 tive ingredient or pesticide product as a dan- 17 gerous pesticide under this subsection. 18 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—On receipt of a petition 19 under subparagraph (A), the Administrator 20 shall review the petitions submitted by inter- 21 ested persons under that subparagraph relating 22 to that active ingredient or pesticide product to 23 determine if the active ingredient or pesticide 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 269 IS product may warrant designation as a dan- 1 gerous pesticide. 2 ‘‘(3) INITIAL FINDINGS.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 4 days after the receipt of a petition described in 5 paragraph (2)(A), the Administrator shall make 6 a finding as to whether the petition presents 7 substantial scientific information indicating that 8 the designation of the petitioned active ingre- 9 dient or pesticide product as a dangerous pes- 10 ticide may be warranted. 11 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO REVIEW PETITION.—If 12 the Administrator fails make a finding on a pe- 13 tition by the date required under subparagraph 14 (A), the active ingredient or pesticide product 15 that is the subject of the petition shall be 16 deemed to be a dangerous pesticide. 17 ‘‘(C) FULL CONSIDERATION OF ALL 18 SCIENCE.— 19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In making a find- 20 ing as to whether a petition provides sub- 21 stantial scientific information that an ac- 22 tive ingredient or pesticide product may 23 warrant designation as a dangerous pes- 24 ticide under subparagraph (A), the Admin- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 269 IS istrator shall fully consider all relevant evi- 1 dence, including— 2 ‘‘(I) epidemiological studies or 3 data; 4 ‘‘(II) peer-reviewed literature; 5 and 6 ‘‘(III) data generated by— 7 ‘‘(aa) a Federal or State 8 agency; or 9 ‘‘(bb) an agency of a foreign 10 government. 11 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—The Adminis- 12 trator shall not discount or ignore informa- 13 tion provided in a petition described in 14 paragraph (2)(A) based on any criteria 15 under part 152 or 160 of title 40, Code of 16 Federal Regulations (or successor regula- 17 tions). 18 ‘‘(4) SUSPENSIONS OF PESTICIDE.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 20 other provision of law, on a finding under para- 21 graph (3)(A) that an active ingredient or pes- 22 ticide product may warrant designation as a 23 dangerous pesticide, or on operation of para- 24 graph (3)(B), the Administrator shall imme- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 269 IS diately suspend the registration of the active in- 1 gredient or pesticide product if a valid rereg- 2 istration eligibility decision or registration re- 3 view determination has not been made regard- 4 ing the active ingredient or pesticide product 5 during the 15-year period ending on the date of 6 that finding or operation. 7 ‘‘(B) DURATION.—The registration of an 8 active ingredient or pesticide product suspended 9 under subparagraph (A) shall remain suspended 10 until such time as the Administrator makes a 11 registration review determination in accordance 12 with this section. 13 ‘‘(5) EXISTING STOCKS.—In accordance with 14 section 6(a)(1), the Administrator shall not permit 15 the continued sale and use of existing stocks of an 16 active ingredient or pesticide product the registra- 17 tion of which has been suspended under paragraph 18 (4). 19 ‘‘(6) CANCELLATION.—Notwithstanding any 20 other provision of law, including section 6(b), if the 21 Administrator fails to suspend the registration of an 22 active ingredient or pesticide product that may war- 23 rant designation as a dangerous pesticide as re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 269 IS quired by this subsection by not later than 60 days 1 after any deadline described in this subsection— 2 ‘‘(A) the registration of the active ingre- 3 dient or pesticide product shall be immediately 4 and permanently canceled by operation of law 5 and without any further proceedings; and 6 ‘‘(B) in accordance with section 6(a)(1), 7 the sale of existing stocks of the active ingre- 8 dient or pesticide product shall be prohibited. 9 ‘‘(7) INAPPLICABILITY OF IREDS.—Notwith- 10 standing any other provision of law, an interim reg- 11 istration review decision or any other interim deter- 12 mination with respect to an active ingredient or pes- 13 ticide product shall have no force or effect regarding 14 any requirement of this subsection.’’. 15 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY REVIEW OF PESTICIDES BANNED IN 16 OTHER NATIONS. 17 Section 6 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 18 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136d) is amended by adding 19 at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(i) SUSPENSION AND EXPEDITED REVIEW OF 21 BANNED PESTICIDES.— 22 ‘‘(1) SUSPENSION OF BANNED PESTICIDES.— 23 The Administrator shall immediately suspend the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 269 IS registration of any active ingredient or pesticide 1 product that is— 2 ‘‘(A) banned or otherwise prohibited from 3 entering the market by the European Union, 1 4 or more countries in the European Union, or 5 Canada; and 6 ‘‘(B) registered for use within the United 7 States. 8 ‘‘(2) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—The Administrator 9 shall complete an expedited review of the justifica- 10 tion and rationale for the ban of a pesticide by the 11 European Union or a country described in para- 12 graph (1)(A). 13 ‘‘(3) CANCELLATION.— 14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any 15 other provision of law, including section 6(b), 16 unless the Administrator determines after a re- 17 view under paragraph (2) that the decision to 18 ban a pesticide by the European Union or a 19 country described in paragraph (1)(A) was 20 clearly erroneous, the registration that is sus- 21 pended shall be canceled not later than 2 years 22 after the date of completion of the review. 23 ‘‘(B) FULL CONSIDERATION OF ALL 24 SCIENCE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:53 Feb 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S269.IS S269 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 269 IS ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In determining 1 whether the ban of a pesticide by the Eu- 2 ropean Union or a country described in 3 paragraph (1)(A) was clearly erroneous 4 under subparagraph (A), the Adminis- 5 trator shall fully consider all relevant evi- 6 dence, including— 7 ‘‘(I) epidemiological studies or 8 data; 9 ‘‘(II) peer-reviewed literature; 10 and 11 ‘‘(III) data generated by— 12 ‘‘(aa) a State or Federal 13 agency; or 14 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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