Minor Use Clearances and the Ir-4 Project

Abstract

Abstract When considering the function of the IR-4 Project, it is useful to first review the organization of the project in order to better understand the state-federal interrelationships involved. Interregional Research Project No. 4, or the IR-4 Project, was established in 1963 as a national program to compile required data and other information in order to obtain tolerances and to assist in registering pesticide labels for so-called “minor” or “specialty” use agricultural commodities. The Project is approved by the Committee of Nine of the state agricultural experiment stations (SAES) and is funded through USDA-CSRS with federal appropriations. The Project is administered by a Technical Committee representing SAES and consistsof four administrative advisors, five technical advisors and several consultants representing i n dustry, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Project has been substantially enlarged in the past three years, a move necessitated as a result of the 1972 amendment to Federal Insecticide Fungicide Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) requiring registration of those minor or specialty use pesticides that were not explicitly indicated on the label or labelling package. There is now a professional staff of seven scientists at the Project headquarters at Rutgers University. These coordinators are assisted by one liaison representative in each state, 12 liaison representatives in USDA-ARS, and a leader laboratory consisting of a laboratory d i rector and regional coordinator in each region.