In summary, the implementation and enforcement of pesticide regulations may dif-
fer from one state to another despite the fact that all states basically enforce their
interpretation of the federal regulations established under FIFRA.^54Information Needs for Pesticide RegistrationAs we have seen, pesticide registration does not guarantee safety. Nor can anyone
give that assurance. All pesticides are associated with some risk of harm to human
health or the environment. Scientists and regulators know too little about pesticides
and people’s exposure to pesticides to offer assurances about pesticide safety. The EPA
is mandated by federal law to evaluate the benefits of using a pesticide versus the risks
it might pose to public health and the environment. To evaluate the risks and benefits
of pesticide use, the EPA requires all pesticide manufacturers to conduct extensive sci-
entific testing prior to product registration for sale and use in the United States. The
manufacturers of all pesticides must compile and document information related to
chemistry, toxicology, food residues, application rates, environmental impact assess-
ment, and human safety. Normally, it takes five to ten years and upwards of $100 mil-
lion to bring a new active ingredient (pesticide) to the point of approval for use by the
public—a significant investment. But such scientific evaluation and regulatory scrutiny
are essential to provide today’s consumers with the benefits of high-quality food.
Registration is not a consumer product safety program. When the EPA registers a
pesticide, it determines, among other things, how the pesticide must be used to mini-
mize any risks, and this information must be printed on the label. Registration is a
balancing act between a pesticide’s benefits and its accompanying risks. Many pesti-
cides used today were registered with the EPA before pesticide testing requirements
were strengthened by Congress in 1978. As a result, many pesticides have not been
subjected to the full range of tests currently required for new products. The EPA is
now reviewing these products, and requiring additional testing, in a reregistration
process that will not be completed for years to come. In the meantime, products reg-
istered under the earlier, less-stringent guidelines remain on the market and in use.
In its labyrinthine complexity, the pesticide registration process approximates an
amusement park hall of mirrors, full of twists and turns, in which a potential regis-
trant often retraces its steps and seems to be always going in circles. The EPA often
calls for redundant health and environmental effects testing, studies to corroborate
earlier studies, and environmental effects testing on specific ecosystems. The regula-
tory definition of what constitutes an adequate test is sufficiently ill defined to allow
the EPA to challenge findings of studies even after the agency has approved the test
protocol and the laboratory where the research is being done.^55Inadequate Legal EnforcementThe misuse of pesticides is responsible for dozens of deaths and hundreds of poison-
ings nationwide every year. Each year, poison control centers across the country receive
thousands of calls involving both agricultural and nonagricultural pesticide exposure16 | Pesticides