EPA Bans 72 Pesticide Inert Ingredients

Recently, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed 72 inert ingredients from the list of those allowed for use in pesticide products. Afterward, manufacturers that need to use these ingredients must provide relevant research information to the EPA to prove their safety, and the EPA will decide after evaluation whether the ingredient may continue to be used.

Previously, the Center for Environmental Health, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and other relevant parties petitioned the EPA to issue a rule disclosing the 371 inert ingredients used in pesticide products. The EPA responded that it would assess the potential risks of inert ingredients as appropriate and reduce those risks. The EPA took this action after receiving public comments on the October 2014 proposal. The 72 banned ingredients on the list announced this time were included in the list of 371 ingredients previously submitted by the petitioners. The EPA's list of approved inert ingredients will be updated after publication in the Federal Register.

Most pesticide products contain a mixture of different ingredients. Among them, the ingredients that directly control pests or weeds are called active ingredients, while the inactive ingredients in pesticide products are called inert substances.

The list of the 72 banned inert ingredients announced is as follows:

CAS Registration NumberChemical Composition1109-89-7 Diethylamine 278-93-3 Methyl ethyl ketone 3109-99-9 Tetrahydrofuran 4123-92-2 1-Butanol-3-methyl acetate 580-62-6 Methyl methacrylate 6100-02-7 p-Nitrophenol 710024-97-2 Nitrous oxide 8100-37-8 Diethylaminoethanol 9101-68-8 Phenyl isocyanate 10106-88-7 1,2-Butylene oxide 11107-18-6 Allyl alcohol 12107-19-7 Propargyl alcohol 13108-46-3 Resorcinol 14110-19-0 Isobutyl acetate 15110-80-5 Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether 16112-55-0 Dodecyl mercaptan 17117-81-7 1,2-Benzenedicarboxylic acid, 2-ethylhexyl ester 18117-84-0 Dioctyl phthalate 19119-61-9 Benzophenone 20121-54-0 Benzylamine 21123-38-6 Propionaldehyde 22124-16-3 Butoxyethoxypropanol 231303-86-2 Boron oxide 241309-64-4 Antimony trioxide 25131-11-3 Dimethyl phthalate 26131-17-9 Diallyl phthalate 271317-95-9 Diatomaceous earth 281319-77-3 Cresol 291321-94-4 Methylnaphthalene 301338-24-5 Naphthenic acid 31139-13-9 Nitrilotriacetic acid 32141-32-2 Butyl acrylate 33142-71-2 Copper acetate 34149-30-4 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole 35150-76-5 p-Methoxyphenol 36150-78-7 1,4-Dimethoxybenzene 3716919-19-0 Ammonium fluorosilicate 381762-95-4 Ammonium thiocyanate 3925013-15-4 Vinyltoluene 4025154-52-3 Nonylphenol 412761-24-2 Amyltriethoxysilane 4228300-74-5 Antimony potassium tartrate 4350-00-0 Formaldehyde 44533-74-4 Dazomet 45552-30-7 Trimellitic anhydride 46618-45-1 o-m-p-Isopropylphenols 4771-55-6 1,1,1-Trichloroethane 487440-37-1 Argon 4974-84-0 Ethane 5075-43-4 Dichlorofluoromethane 5175-45-6 Chlorodifluoromethane 5275-68-3 1-Chloro-1,1-difluoroethane 5375-69-4 Trichlorofluoromethane 5475-71-8 Dichlorodifluoromethane 5576-13-1 1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane 567758-01-2 x Potassium bromate 5778-88-6 2,3-Dichloropropene 5879-11-8 Monochloroacetic acid 5979-24-3 Nitroethane 6079-34-5 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane 618006-64-2 Turpentine 6283-79-4 Rotenone 6385-44-9 Phthalic anhydride 6488-12-0 N-Vinyl-2-pyrrolidone 6588-69-7 2-Isopropylphenol 6688-89-1 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol 6794-36-0 Benzoyl peroxide 6895-48-7 o-Cresol 6997-63-2 2-Propenoic acid, 2-methyl-, ethyl ester 7097-88-1 Butyl methacrylate 7198-54-4 p-tert-Butylphenol 7299-89-8 o-m-p-Isopropylphenols

For the EPA's current views on inert ingredients and its previous response to the petitioners dated May 22, 2014, please click to view: www.regulations.gov/document