EPA To Appeal Court Dedsion on Negligible-Risk Policy for Pesticides

Abstract

At a Congressional hearing to review the progress of pesticide regulation in the 30 years since publication of Rachel L. Carson's book, Silent Spring, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it will appeal the recent court decision that rejected the agency's use of a negligible-risk policy for cancer-causing pesticides. Linda J. Fisher, EPA assistant administrator for prevention, pesticides, and toxic substances, told the House Subcommittee on Environment, Energy & Natural Resources of the Government Operations Committee that the agency has asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. That decision rejected EPA's announced policy that residues of pesticides could remain on foods so long as the concentration was so low it represented only a negligible risk to the consumer (C&EN, July 13, page 7). The appeals court ruled that this policy conflicts with the absolute prohibition of carcinogens in food mandated by ...