Pests live where they are not wanted or cause harm to crops, people, or animals. Pesticides can help get rid of them. Pesticides are not just insect killers. They also include chemicals to control weeds, rodents, mildew, germs, and more. Many household products contain pesticides.

Pesticides can protect your health by killing germs, animals, or plants that could hurt you. However, they can also be harmful to people or pets. You might want to try non-chemical methods first. If you do need a pesticide, use it correctly. Be especially careful around children and pets. Proper disposal of pesticides is also important - it can help protect the environment.

Biologically-based pesticides are becoming more popular. They often are safer than traditional pesticides.

Pesticide products contain both "active" and "inert" ingredients:

What is a Pesticide?

A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for

• Preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.
• Use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.
• Use as a nitrogen stabilizer

Definition of pesticide in FIFRA

• An “active ingredient” prevents, destroys, repels, or mitigates a pest, or is a plant regulator, defoliant, desiccant, or nitrogen stabilizer.

• All other ingredients are called "inert ingredients" by federal law. They are important for product performance and usability.

Active Ingredients

Active ingredients are the chemicals in a pesticide product that act to control the pests. Active ingredients must be identified by name on the pesticide product's label together with its percentage by weight.

There are several categories of active ingredients:

• Conventional, which are all ingredients other than biological pesticides and antimicrobial pesticides.
• Antimicrobial, which are substances or mixtures of substances used to destroy or suppress the growth of harmful microorganisms whether bacteria, viruses, or fungi on inanimate objects and surfaces.
• Biopesticides, which are types of ingredients derived from certain natural materials.

Inert Ingredients

Pesticide products contain at least one active ingredient and other intentionally added inert ingredients. Called “inert ingredients” by the federal law, they are combined with active ingredients to make a pesticide product. Inerts are chemicals, compounds, and other substances, including common food commodities (e.g., certain edible oils, spices, herbs) and some natural materials (e.g., beeswax, cellulose).

The name “inert” does not mean non-toxic. All inert ingredients must be approved by EPA before they can be included in a pesticide. We review safety information about each inert ingredient before approval. If the pesticide will be applied to food or animal feed, a food tolerance is required for each inert ingredient in the product, and we may limit the amount of each inert ingredient in the product.

Inert ingredients play key roles in pesticide effectiveness and product performance. Examples of functions inerts can serve include:

• Act as a solvent to help the active ingredient penetrate a plant's leaf surface.
• Improve the ease of application by preventing caking or foaming.
• Extend the product's shelf-life.
• Improve safety for the applicator.
• Protect the pesticide from degradation due to exposure to sunlight.

Under federal law, the identity of inert ingredients is confidential business information. The law does not require manufacturers to identify inert ingredients by name or percentage on product labels. In general, only the total percentage of all inert ingredients is required to be on the pesticide product label.

Evaluating Pesticide Ingredients

Before manufacturers can sell pesticides in the United States, EPA must evaluate them thoroughly to ensure that they meet federal safety standards to protect human health and the environment. We grant a "registration" or license that permits a pesticide's distribution, sale, and use only after the company meets the scientific and regulatory requirements.

In evaluating a pesticide registration application, we assess a wide variety of potential human health and environmental effects associated with use of the pesticide. Potential registrants must generate scientific data necessary to address concerns pertaining to the:

• identity,
• composition,
• potential adverse effects, and
• environmental fate

of each pesticide. The data allow us to evaluate whether a pesticide could harm certain nontarget organisms and endangered species. We evaluate both the active ingredient and the products in which the active ingredient is used.

Exposure and Risk

People are exposed to low levels of pesticides every day. You can be exposed to pesticides in a variety of placesincluding your home, at school, or at work. Pesticides can get inside your body from eating, drinking, breathingthem in, and by skin contact.

Different pesticides affect human health in different ways. A wide range of health effects, acute and chronic, areassociated with exposures to some pesticides. For example, some pesticides may affect the nervous system, whileothers may irritate the skin or eyes. Some pesticides may cause cancer and others may affect the endocrine system.The health risks from pesticide exposure depend on the toxicity of the pesticides, the amount a person is exposedto, and the duration and the route of exposure. Evidence suggests that children are at greater risk of illnessor injury from exposure to pesticides in general, including effects on brain development.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets requirements on how a pesticide should be used and the precautions that must be taken to limit adverse effects to humans and the environment.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) gives the EPA authority to regulate pesticide sales and use. EPA sets regulations for pesticidesto certify that they will not cause unreasonable harm to humans or the environment if labeled properlyand used accordingly. EPA is responsible for ensuring compliance and enforcing bans on unregistered pesticides.

Prevention

The most effective way to reduce your exposure to pesticides is to use non-pesticidal control methods to reduce oreliminate pest problems. Integrated pest management,or IPM, is an alternative pest-control method that focuses on not attracting pests by eliminating their sourceof food, water, and shelter. IPM simply means

1. Don't attract pests,
2. Keep them out, and
3. Get rid of them, if you are sure you have them, with the safest, most effective methods.

Examples of IPM around the home include removing sources of food and water by making sure trash can lids are closedtightly and fixing leaky pipes. Other examples include destroying pest shelters and breeding sites like pilesof litter, old tires, or yard waste.

If you decide you must use pesticides:

1. Read the label first and follow the directions, includingfollowing safety requirements and restrictions.
2. Use protective precautions when handling pesticides by wearing gloves, goggles, respirators or protectiveclothing when required by the pesticide label.
3. Wash hands and clothing after handling. Be sure to wash pesticide-contaminated clothing in a separate washload and not with the regular household laundry.
4. Remove children, toys, pets and food from the area before applying pesticides.
5. Avoid spraying pesticides outside on windy days.
6. Store pesticides out of children's reach.

If you need to purchase pest control services, be sure to check that you are hiring a licensed pesticide applicator.If using a commercial applicator or lawn care service, ask for information about potential risks and safety precautionsto take. For more information on pesticide use, please contact your state's Cooperative Extension Office.

Keep the poison control center phone number, 1-800-222-1222, on or near every home telephone and save it on yourcell phone. The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Avoid disposing of pesticides whenever possible:

• Mix up only enough pesticide for the job.
• Use up small amounts of excess pesticides -- apply them according to the directions on the label.
• If you cannot use it, ask your neighbors if they have a similar pest control problem and can use it up.

If any remaining pesticide cannot be used properly, safely dispose of pesticides to protect people, pets, and the environment:

• Follow all disposal instructions on the pesticide label.
• Check with your local solid waste management authority, environmental agency or health department to find out whether your community has a household hazardous waste collection program or a similar program for getting rid of unwanted, leftover pesticides. These authorities can also inform you of any local requirements for pesticide waste disposal. To identify your local solid waste agency,
  • Search the internet or look in the government section of your phone book under categories such as solid waste, public works, or garbage, trash or refuse collection for your town, city or county.
  • Contact Earth 911 at 1-800-CLEANUP or www.earth911.com.

Think before disposing of extra pesticides and containers:

• Never reuse empty pesticide containers. Pesticide residues can contaminate the new contents and cause serious harm.
• Never pour pesticides down the sink, toilet, sewer, or street drain.
  • Many municipal drinking water and wastewater treatment systems are not equipped to remove all pesticides.
  • If pesticides reach waterways, they can harm fish, plants, and other living things.

What are pyrethrins and pyrethroids?

Pyrethrins and pyrethroids are insecticides included in over 3,500 registered products, many of which are used widely in and around households, including on pets and in treated clothing, in mosquito control, and in agriculture. The use of pyrethrins and pyrethroids has increased during the past decade with the declining use of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides, which are more acutely toxic to birds and mammals than the pyrethroids.

This increase in use, while generally beneficial, has introduced certain new issues. For example, residential uses of pyrethrins and pyrethroids may result in urban runoff, potentially exposing aquatic life to pesticide residues in water and sediment.

Pyrethrins are botanical insecticides derived from chrysanthemum flowers. They work by altering nerve function, which causes paralysis in target insect pests, eventually resulting in death.

Pyrethroids are synthetic chemical insecticides whose chemical structures are adapted from the chemical structures of the pyrethrins and act in a similar manner to pyrethrins. Pyrethroids are modified to increase their stability in sunlight.

Most pyrethrins and some pyrethroid products are formulated with synergists, such as piperonyl butoxide and MGK-264, to enhance the pesticidal properties of the product. These synergists have no pesticidal effects of their own but enhance the effectiveness of other chemicals.

Registration Review of Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids

In November 2019, EPA released the following documents for public comment:

• Five pyrethroid proposed interim decisions (cyphenothrin, imiprothrin, tetramethrin, flumethrin and momfluorothrin). Comments can be made on or before January 13, 2020, to the docket numbers listed in the table below.
• The Agency’s reevaluation of the FQPA safety factor for pyrethroids. Comments can be made on or before January 13, 2020, in docket #EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0331. Learn more about how the FQPA safety factor is applied in the review of pyrethroids.
• Ecological Risk Mitigation Proposal for 23 pyrethroids/pyrethrins. Comments can be made on or before January 13, 2020, in docket #EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0331.

EPA will release proposed interim decisions for the remaining pyrethroids in 2020. Interim decisions for each pyrethroid are anticipated to be released in late 2020.

Ecological Risk Assessments and Risk Management Rationale

In late 2016, EPA released a draft ecological risk assessment for eight pyrethroids plus the pyrethrins and a risk management rationale for the remaining pyrethroids currently undergoing registration review.

We assessed the pyrethroids and pyrethrins as a class rather than by individual chemical for our draft ecological risk assessment to increase efficiency and consistency in our assessments and to implement consistent risk mitigation.

To address potential risks of concern for terrestrial/aquatic invertebrates and fish found in the 2016 draft ecological risk assessments, EPA is proposing ecological risk mitigation to reduce spray drift, reduce runoff, and promote soil conservation practices for the entire class of pyrethrins and pyrethroids. Read and comment on the Ecological Risk Mitigation Proposal.

Human Health Risk Assessments

The draft human health risk assessments were conducted for each pyrethroid individually because each chemical has unique uses and hazard characteristics, which lead to different exposures and resulted in varying risks. These risk assessments were released in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Docket Numbers

Listed below are the docket numbers for each pyrethroid chemical. In each chemical’s registration review docket, you can view available draft risk assessments, proposed interim registration review decisions (cyphenothrin, flumethrin, imiprothrin, momfluorothrin, and tetramethrin only) and other supporting documents for each chemical.

The special docket for the pyrethroids and pyrethrins (EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0331) contains the ecological assessment for eight pyrethroids and the pyrethrins, the ecological risk management rationale, the FQPA safety factor re-evaluation, and other documents affecting the pyrethroids and pyrethrins as a group.

List of Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids

*Esfenvalerate is not a pyrethroid or pyrethrin but was assessed with the group due to its structural similarity.