 | Pesticide-Related Laws and Regulations |
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| There are over 20 thousand pesticide products registered for use in the United States. Several laws govern the Federal regulatory program for these pesticide products. This fact sheet provides an overview of several of the most common statutes affecting EPA's pesticide program. |
| This act makes it
a Federal offense to use any pesticide in a manner that may adversely
affect an endangered species. A special statement will eventually be
added to each pesticide label that will warn pesticide applicators to
comply with county-specific use limitation bulletins based on the location
of endangered species in that county.
Beginning in 1998, the EPA may begin enforcing their pesticide use policies under Endangered Species Act. This policy will prohibit the use of some pesticides in specific locations. The labels of those pesticides so restricted will state that the use of the pesticide is prohibited in specific areas within counties. In order to use the pesticide, the user must obtain an "EPA PESTICIDE USE BULLETIN FOR PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED SPECIES." These bulletins will describe all pertinent restrictions in each affected county. Bulletins may be available from a variety of sources including pesticide dealers, and county SCS, ASCS, and Extension offices. Pesticide users should obtain and read all pertinent information about endangered species before buying and using pesticides that have endangered species restrictions. Selected links:
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| The first provision
of FIFRA is Pesticide Labeling. You will often hear the statement, "The
label is the law." This is because FIFRA provides a standard for
pesticide labeling that ensures correct pesticide use when label
directions are followed. If you handle or apply any pesticide inconsistently
with its labeling, you are in violation of the law and are subject
to criminal and civil penalties. Pesticides may only be applied to
labeled sites. You may not use pesticides labeled for outdoor or
agricultural uses indoors unless the label says you can.
The second FIFRA provision is Pesticide Registration. Under FIFRA all pesticides and pesticide uses must be registered with the EPA. Anyone who sells, distributes or uses a pesticide that is not registered with the EPA is subject to penalties. The third provision of FIFRA is Pesticide Classification. FIFRA requires that all pesticides on the market be classified as either General-use or Restricted-use. General-use pesticides are relatively safe to the environment and to humans and may be purchased and applied by anyone. Restricted-use pesticides, on the other hand, are pesticides that, even when used exactly as directed on the product labeling, may harm the environment, including humans. The fourth provision of FIFRA is Pesticide Applicator Certification. Anyone who purchases or applies a pesticide classified as a Restricted-use pesticide must either be certified, or under the supervision of a Certified Pesticide Applicator. In addition, FIFRA distinguishes between certified Private Pesticide Applicators and certified Commercial Pesticide Applicators.
FIFRA is enforced in South Carolina by the Department of Pesticide Regulation at Clemson University. Selected links:
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| The Field Sanitation
Standard applies to agricultural employers who employ more than ten
field workers or who maintain a labor camp. This Standard requires
that these employers provide their employees who could be exposed
to agricultural chemicals with: toilet facilities, hand-washing facilities,
clean drinking water, and information about good hygiene practices.
Good hygiene practices should include:
The provisions
of the Field Sanitation Standard are administered and enforced
by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the South
Carolina Department of Labor. Selected links:
To return to this page from any of these links, use the "Back" button on your web browser. |
| The pesticide
reregistration program acquired significant new dimensions on August
3, 1996, when the Food Quality Protection Act was enacted. FQPA,
which amends both FIFRA and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act (FFDCA), establishes a new safety standard for pesticide residues
in food and emphasizes protecting the health of infants and children.
Under FQPA, all pesticide food uses must be "safe"; that is, EPA must be able to conclude with "reasonable certainty that no harm will result from aggregate exposure" to each pesticide from dietary and other sources. In determining allowable levels of pesticide residues in food, the Agency must conduct a comprehensive assessment of each pesticide's risks, considering:
Within ten years of enactment of the new law, EPA must reassess all existing "tolerances" (maximum limits for pesticide residues in foods) and exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance, for both the active and inert ingredients in pesticide products. The Agency must consider the pesticides posing the greatest potential risks first, to ensure that they meet FQPA's new safety standard. EPA is using reregistration to accomplish tolerance reassessment, the cornerstone of the FQPA. Once reregistration is completed in about 2002, all pesticides will be re-examined periodically in the future through registration review. This new program created by FQPA requires EPA to review every registered pesticide on a suggested 15-year cycle. Looking to
the future, then, the public will have assurance that all registered
pesticides are being reviewed periodically and updated to meet
current scientific and regulatory standards. |
| Commercial applicators
already maintain records of their Restricted-use pesticide applications
under the provisions of the South Carolina Pesticide Control Act.
Pesticide recordkeeping requirements for Private applicators come
under the provisions of the federal Food, Agriculture, Conservation
and Trade Act, otherwise known as the "1990 Farm Bill".
Under this act, Private applicators are required to keep the following records when they apply Restricted-use pesticides:
All pesticide application records must be retained for a period of 2 years from the date of the application. Private applicators must complete the record for an application within 14 days following the application. Commercial applicators who apply Restricted-use pesticides on a property must provide the owner of that property with a copy of the necessary information after the application is completed. If an emergency occurs requiring immediate medical treatment, these application records must be accessible to the attending licensed healthcare professional or someone working under that professional's direct supervision. The Food, Agriculture,
Conservation and Trade Act is administered by the USDA Agricultural
Marketing Service. For more information,
see Pesticide Recordkeeping. You can also link to U.S. Agricultural Marketing Service's Federal Pesticide Recordkeeping Program To return to this page from these links, use the "Back" button on your web browser. |
| The Occupational
Safety and Health Act requires that employers take reasonable steps
to assure employee safety, prevent avoidable accidents in the workplace,
and inform employees of potential hazards associated with their jobs.
OSHA specifically requires that employers develop a written hazard
communication program listing all hazardous chemicals present at
the site and describing how workers will be informed about the hazards
posed by these chemicals.
In addition, employers must have in their possession an MSDS for each hazardous chemical they use. They must provide their employees with information and training on hazardous chemicals when they are hired, reassigned or when a new chemical is introduced into the workplace. And finally, under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employers must keep records of any pesticide-related injuries or illnesses to their employees. The provisions of OSHA are administered and enforced
by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the South
Carolina Department of Labor. OSHA does not apply to farms at which
only immediate members of a farmer's family are employed. Selected links:
To return to this page from any of these links, use the "Back" button on your web browser. |
| The Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act provides the EPA with standards for
regulating the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and
disposal of hazardous substances, including some pesticides.
To comply with EPA's hazardous waste regulations, farmers need only pressure (or jet) rinse or triple rinse their empty pesticide containers and dispose of the residues on their own farms in a manner consistent with the pesticide labeling. In South Carolina, it is against the law to burn
or bury any pesticide containers. You should take your properly
rinsed pesticide containers to the nearest solid waste landfill
that will accept them or to a container recycling location. Selected links:
To return to this page from any of these links, use the "Back" button on your web browser. |
| This act regulates
the application of fertilizers and pesticides through irrigation
equipment. The South Carolina Chemigation Act is administered by
the Department of Pesticide Regulation. Their inspectors perform
site inspections and may take water or chemical samples to determine
if check valves or other anti-pollution devices need servicing.
The South Carolina Chemigation Act requires that you immediately report any known or suspected contamination of a water source by chemigation. It also requires that anyone who chemigates maintain, in good working order, all specified backflow prevention equipment and ensure that this equipment is operational at all times. And it requires that specific records of chemigation applications be retained for 2 years from the time of the application. Anyone who chemigates is subject to the provisions
of the South Carolina Chemigation Act whether the pesticides being
used for chemigation are labeled Restricted-use or not. Selected links:
For more
information on the South Carolina Chemigation Law, contact the Department
of Pesticide Regulation. To return to this page from DPR's web site, use the "Back" button on your web browser. |
This act gives
the Department
of Pesticide Regulation the authority to regulate pesticide registration,
quality control, and pesticide use in the state of South Carolina.
Enforcement duties of the Department of Pesticide Regulation are:
There are three major provisions of the South Carolina Pesticide Control Act. The first is Pesticide Registration. Every pesticide distributed in the state of South Carolina or delivered for transportation or transported within the state must be registered with the Department of Pesticide Regulation by the basic producer of the pesticide product. The second provision is for Pesticide Dealer and Applicator Certification or Licensing. Under the South Carolina Pesticide Control Act pesticide dealers, like applicators, must be licensed annually. However, if a pesticide dealer does not sell Restricted-use pesticides, then that dealer is exempt from the licensing requirement. Under FIFRA, all pesticide applicators who apply or supervise the application of Restricted-use pesticides must be licensed. The South Carolina Pesticide Control Act goes one step further and divides these pesticide applicator licenses into three classes: private, commercial and non-commercial.
Under the South Carolina Pesticide Control Act, commercial and non-commercial pesticide applicators, depending on their business and types of pesticide applications they perform, must be certified in one or more of the following twelve categories:
To become certified as a commercial or non-commercial applicator in South Carolina, you must pass a written Core examination and additional written examinations in each of the Categories in which you will be applying pesticides. All commercial examinations are given by the Department of Pesticide Regulation. To become certified as a private pesticide applicator in the state of South Carolina, you must attend an approved pesticide safety training program conducted by a Clemson Extension County Pesticide Training Coordinator or other Extension agent and pass a written examination following the training. Private pesticide applicator licenses are awarded by the Department of Pesticide Regulation. According to the South Carolina Pesticide Control Act, all pesticide applicator licenses expire on December 31 and must be renewed before January 1. Your license may be denied, suspended or revoked if you:
Under the South Carolina Pesticide Control Act, certified pesticide applicators are required to be recertified on a continuing basis. Recertification training in South Carolina is conducted by the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service, and others, through approved training classes, courses or meetings. Approval for these training sessions and courses and subsequent recertification status is awarded by the Department of Pesticide Regulation. To be recertified in the state of South Carolina, private pesticide applicators are required to complete five Continuing Certification Hours in a five year period. Commercial and noncommmercial applicators must complete ten Continuing Certification Hours in the same five year period. No recertification is presently required for pesticide dealers or commercial or non-commercial applicators in Category 12, Miscellaneous. For more information, contact your County Extension Pesticide Training Coordinator. The final provision
of the South Carolina Pesticide Control Act establishes a State
Pesticide Advisory Committee. This committee assists the Director
of the Division of Regulatory and Public Service Programs with
any or all problems relating to the use and application of pesticides. Complete
Rules and Regulations for the Enforcement of the South Carolina
Pesticide Control Act of 2006 (PDF) To return to this page from DPR's web site, use the "Back" button on your web browser. |
| If you
store greater than specific amounts of some pesticides and certain
other hazardous agricultural chemicals on your farm, you then become
subject to Title III of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization
Act.
Under this act, anyone who uses pesticides may be subject to
the notification requirements of the law. The community right-to-know
provisions of this act require you to keep Material Safety Data
Sheets, or MSDSs, as well as documents showing the location and
amount of certain chemicals present at your facility. These must
also be provided to state and local emergency planning bodies
and to local fire departments. |
| The Worker Protection
Standard must be complied with whenever pesticide products are used
on agricultural establishments for the commercial or research production
of agricultural plants. Persons who must comply with this regulation
include owners or operators of agricultural establishments and owners
or operators of commercial businesses that are hired to apply pesticides
on agricultural establishments.
The Worker Protection Standard was created to provide agricultural workers and pesticide handlers in agriculture with protections against possible exposure and harm from pesticides in the workplace. Pesticide applicators fall into the category of pesticide handlers in this regulation. Under the provisions of the Worker Protection Standard, agricultural employers are required to do the following:
In addition, agricultural employers:
Under the Worker Protection Standard, it is illegal for anyone other than a trained, properly equipped pesticide handler to be present at a site during a pesticide application. In addition, pesticide handlers must be routinely monitored while they are making applications in certain hazardous situations or using pesticides bearing a skull and crossbones on the label. Employers must
instruct all pesticide handlers in correct use of personal protective
equipment and correct use of pesticide application equipment. And
finally, they must provide the personal protective equipment listed
on the pesticide label to all pesticide handlers and specially
trained workers, called early-entry workers. In a few very limited
situations, these early-entry workers may enter pesticide-treated
areas before the restricted-entry interval has expired, but never
during a pesticide application. The Department of Pesticide Regulation is the regulatory agency in South Carolina responsible for enforcement of the Worker Protection Standard. |
Site maintained
by Rachel Rowe | Pesticide
Information Program | Entomology
at Clemson
Clemson University Cooperative
Extension Service | Clemson
University
Last Updated: July 28, 2005