EPA Conditionally Registers Nanosilver Pesticide and NRDC Files Blocking Lawsuit

FIFRA/Nanotechnology:

EPA’s Conditional Registration

On December 1, 2011, EPA announced that it was conditionally registering a pesticide product containing nanosilver as a new active ingredient. The antimicrobial pesticide product, HeiQ AGS-20, is a silver-based product for use as a preservative for textiles. As a condition of registration, EPA stated that it would require additional data on the product to confirm EPA’s assessment that the product will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment, the general standard for a registration under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

By way of background, on August 12, 2010, EPA posted a Proposed Conditional Registration to the docket for public comment. EPA received 45 public comments, and responses to these comments along with the decision document to conditionally register the product can be found at www.regulations.gov in Docket ID # EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-1012. A description of the additional studies and timeline when the data must be submitted is also available in the docket.

NRDC’s Lawsuit

In response to the conditional registration, on January 26, 2012, the Natural Resources Defense Council filed a lawsuit in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging EPA’s decision.  NRDC asserts that there is a lack of data concerning the human health and environmental effects of nanosilver.  The lawsuit seeks to limit public exposure to the nanosilver that EPA registered for use in clothing, baby blankets, and many other textiles.

Verdant will soon post a copy of the NRDC’s legal documents.  Check back soon for these documents and for further commentary on this important development for the nanotechnology community.