Pesticides: Regulating Pesticides

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Antimicrobial Pesticide Registration Pesticide Registration Manual (Blue Book) Label Review Manual (LRM) Antimicrobial registration work plans

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Many of the laws, guidance, and policies that govern EPA are contained in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as Amended in 1996, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 152, 156 and 158 (includes current regulation & proposed revisions), and the Office of Pesticide Prevention and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) Harmonized Test Guidelines. The additional guidance needed for antimicrobials can be found in the links for efficacy test guidelines, antimicrobial policy questions, and other antimicrobial guidance. See specific antimicrobial laws and guidance documents below:

• Registration Policy Documents - list of policy and guidance documents to assist in registering or understanding antimicrobial products
• Disinfectant Technical Science Section (DIS/TSS) Documents - for determining efficacy data requirements, label claims, and in some cases testing requirements

Antimicrobial Registration

EPA regulates pesticides under the statutory authority of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The registration requirements for antimicrobial pesticides differ somewhat from those of other pesticides. For example, EPA requires special tests to ensure efficacy of public health pesticides when the pests are invisible disease-causing microbes, rather than insects or rodents that may be harboring disease organisms. Similarly, determining human and ecological risks from exposure to antimicrobial pesticides requires different types of measurements and models than those needed for pesticides largely applied to crops and other plants. In view of these and other differences, EPA decided that its regulations governing pesticide registration requirements should also incorporate special antimicrobial sections. For more detailed registration information please see the following:

• Antimicrobial Pesticide Registration
• Pesticide Registration Manual (Blue Book)
• Label Review Manual (LRM)
• Antimicrobial registration work plans
• Registration Policy Documents

Antimicrobial Health & Safety

Antimicrobials play an important role in public health and safety. While providing health benefits of pathogen removal and, in some cases, safety benefits of materials preservation, they also involve risks of potential efficacy failure and exposure hazards. It’s no wonder, then, that the effectiveness and proper use of these products are of widespread concern. See the following documents for further reading:

• Antimicrobial Testing Program
• Consumer Products Treated With Pesticides
• Pesticide Health & Safety

Related Resources

There are several resources outside of the EPA Web site which may give readers additional antimicrobial information sources and opinions, which are not currently located as part of the this section of the EPA Web site. Links outside EPA are not necessarily supported by the agency, but do represent alternative views on subjects related to Antimicrobial pesticides. A list of some additional sources of antimicrobial information can be found under Other Antimicrobial Information Sources.