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PA EPA PUBLISHES FRAMEWORK OUTLINING KEY SCIENCE POLICIES FOR FOOD SAFETY LAW

Release Date: 10/30/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1998

EPA PUBLISHES FRAMEWORK OUTLINING KEY SCIENCE POLICIES FOR FOOD SAFETY LAW


On Oct. 29, EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) published a framework outlining nine key science policies that the Agency is developing to reassess tolerances (pesticide residue limits) and meet the new safety standards of the Food Quality and Protection Act. The framework includes a schedule for issuing and revising these policies, and summarizes the issues addressed by each policy. For example, one issue addressed is the use of an additional ten-fold safety factor in the risk assessments EPA conducts to ensure that children are protected from pesticides found in food. Other issues include evaluating drinking water and residential exposures to pesticides. Based on the schedule for the framework, OPP expects to issue and revise each of the policies within the next 15 months. During this time there will be an opportunity for the public to comment on the policies individually. In the interim, the existing policies will be used when making decisions on pesticide actions. By publishing and inviting comment on its science policy framework the Agency is seeking to make its decision-making process transparent, to actively engage the public, and ensure that its framework is independently reviewed. A copy of the framework and a timeline are available from the EPA Home page at the Federal Register -Environmental Documents entry for this document under “Laws and Regulations”
(http://www.epa.epa.gov/fedrgstr).

R-149 ###