American Bird Conservancy - ABC - the nation’s leading bird
conservation organization, and ten other groups have called on the Environmental Protection Agency - EPA - to begin immediate proceedings
to have rodent poison products that do not meet new EPA packaging
guidelines withdrawn from retail shelves.
In 2008, following years of pressure by ABC, Defenders of Wildlife,
and Natural Resources Defense Council - NRDC - EPA announced new
regulations to take effect June 4 for ten rodenticides because of their
unacceptable risks to children, pets, and non-target wildlife. The
EPA-mandated changes to household mouse or rat bait products include
switching bait products to tamper- and weather-resistant bait stations,
limiting the amount of bait sold to residential consumers, and
restricting the use of a second-generation active ingredient.
The EPA began its evaluation of rodenticides in 1998. A lawsuit
brought by NRDC over child poisonings, along with the threat of action
by ABC and Defenders of Wildlife over the poisoning of birds of prey and
San Joaquin kit foxes, convinced EPA to develop a mitigation plan for
both ecological effects and children. The manufacturers of these
chemicals fought back, pressuring EPA to accept less stringent,
alternative plans, and threatening them with lawsuits.
Another key impetus for the new requirements was the more than
10,000 annual calls to poison control centers, many of them for
children, in connection with these types of products. Additionally,
these rodenticides had been causing the secondary poisoning of birds and
mammals that were scavenging on dead or dying rodents, including
Golden Eagles, Ravens, endangered San Joaquin kit foxes, and mountain
lions.
A handful of companies have advised EPA that they do not plan to
comply with the requirements. Consequently, EPA has announced their
intention to initiate cancellation proceedings under the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA against
non-compliant products marketed by the following companies to remove
them from the market:
-
Reckitt Benckiser Inc. (makers of D-Con, Fleeject, and Mimas rodent control products)
-
Woodstream Inc. (makers of Victor rodent control products)
-
Spectrum Group (makers of Hot Shot rodent control products)
-
Liphatech Inc. (makers of Generation, Maki, and Rozol rodent control products)
Unfortunately, cancellation can take years if the manufacturers
choose to fight the proceedings, during which time, the products can
remain on the market. Therefore, in a May 16, 2011 letter, ABC and ten
other groups requested that EPA take immediate measures to ensure rodent
poison packaging that does not conform to the new standards be pulled
from the retail market. The groups are asking EPA to begin proceedings
for the immediate removal of the non-compliant products because they
pose an imminent hazard.
The letter by the groups to EPA further states that “It is
unacceptable for a major pesticide company to blatantly ignore the risk
mitigation measures after the Agency has conducted years of research
and risk assessments, and developed a plan to which all companies were
given ample time to conform. The sale of an unregistered product after
the phase-out period presents an imminent hazard to children, pets, and
wildlife, and we strongly believe it is grounds for suspension under
FIFRA section 6(c). We feel this is an issue to which the EPA
enforcement division must immediately respond with decisive action."
“It is both astonishing and reprehensible that some manufacturers
have decided to refuse to comply with prudent safety measures designed
to reduce the many human and animal poisoning incidents caused by their
products,” said Dr. Michael Fry, Director of Conservation Advocacy for
ABC.