Nevermore
Jan 06, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, in a positive development for the U.S. rice industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that some underlying issues with the bird repellent Anthraquinone have been resolved, clearing the way for the agency to issue a two-year Section 3 registration for use on rice.
This conditional Section 3 registration will allow the product manufacturer to produce one further toxicology study. Assuming the study shows no health or other issues, a full registration could then be issued. For now, there is no need for the states to file Section 18 emergency exemption applications with EPA. (Section 3 is a full Federal registration of a pesticide while a Section 18 exemption authorizes EPA to allow unregistered use of a pesticide for a limited time if the agency determines that an emergency condition exists.)
AV-1011 is ready for use under its new two-year Federal label, however, the manufacturer must still proceed to acquire state registrations.
Anthraquinone, a naturally occurring chemical found in many species of plants has been found to meet the requirements for an effective bird repellent as a seed treatment on a variety of crops including sunflowers, trees, and rice.
USA Rice has helped states, manufacturers, and members acquire both Section 3 and Section 18 status for a number of products over the last several years, and is working toward an unconditional Section 3 registration for this important product.