US EPA rejects plea to revise exemption to neonic-treated seeds

摘要

The US EPA has refused to revise a"treated article exemption” granted to seeds treated with three systemic, neonicotinoid insecticides – clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam – besides 15 seed treatment products based on the active ingredients. Quashing a 2017 petition by US agricultural advocacy group Center for Food Safety (CFS), the regulator has declined to subject seeds treated with the ais to registration and labelling requirements under the country’s Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The petition alleged that the Agency had failed to"fully assess the adverse effects” from use of seed treatment pesticides that have systemic properties, and subsequent use of seeds treated by such formulations. Getty.