The US EPA issued new regulations for Chlorpyrifos, and Corteva and Gharda voluntarily canceled many products

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a series of key measures involving final cancellation orders for Chlorpyrifos products and updates to existing inventory regulations aimed at addressing the health and environmental risks posed by this widely used organophosphorus insecticide.

Chlorpyrifos, once widely used in a variety of food crops and non-food sectors, was removed from all residue limits in the EPA's August 2021 final rule, banning its use in food and animal feed. The decision came in response to an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit requiring the EPA to quickly address the use of Chlorpyrifos.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed the EPA ban on December 28, 2023, reinstating residual limits for chlorpyrifos. In response, the EPA published a notice in the Federal Register on February 5, 2024 announcing changes to the Code of Federal Regulations to reflect the court's ruling.

 PART.01 

In this policy update, Corteva's chlorpyrifos product Dursban 50W in Water Soluble Packets faces voluntary cancellation. On June 9, 2023, the EPA issued a notice of receipt of the registrant's request for voluntary cancellation of the product registration and opened it for public comment. Despite receiving five comments, the EPA ultimately decided to accept the registrant's cancellation request.

 PART.02 

Chlorpyrifos Technical, Pilot 4E Chlorpyrifos and Pilot 15G Chlorpyrifos, all Chlorpyrifos products from Gharda in India, also face cancellation. The products would end all food uses except for 11 crop uses specified in the proposed interim decision for 2020, which state restrictions are noted on product labels. The notice of acceptance of the cancellation request issued by EPA is the same as the Dursban product cancellation, and the comments received do not change EPA's decision to accept the registrant's cancellation request.

PART.03 

At the same time, EPA also revised the existing inventory rules for several chlorpyrifos products from Liberty and Winfield. Chlorpyrifos Bifenthrin and Chlorpyrifos 4E in Liberty, as well as Tundra Supreme, CPF 4E and CPF 15G in Winfield, have all been voluntarily cancelled in August 2022 and May 2023. Under the revised regulations, the period for sale and distribution of existing stock of these products has been extended until April 30, 2025.

The EPA is expected to issue a proposed rule later this year to further restrict the use of chlorpyrifos. Based on available data, retaining residual limits for only 11 food uses is expected to reduce the average annual use of chlorpyrifos in the United States by 70 percent compared to historical use.