U.S. Court Rules Inert Ingredients Must Be Disclosed

PANUPS 28oct96

A U.S. federal district court ruled this month that pesticide companies must disclose information about inert ingredients in six pesticide products. The suit, filed in 1994 by the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) and the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP), charged that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must disclose the common names and CAS* numbers of inert ingredients in these pesticides under the Freedom of Information Act. The pesticides named in the suit were Aatrex 80W (atrazine), Weedone LV4 (2,4-D), Roundup (glyphosate), Velpar (haxazinone), Garlon 3A (triclopyr) and Tordon 101 (picloram and 2,4-D).

Manufacturers are already required to provide EPA with names of all pesticide ingredients including inerts, but EPA routinely witholds this information from the public because of industry claims that the information is subject to trade secrecy laws. The plaintiffs argued that EPA wrongfully accepted manufacturers' blanket claims of confidentiality without first ascertaining that the inerts in the six pesticide products qualified as trade secrets. Inerts are chemicals used in pesticide products to increase efficacy and ease of use.

EPA was joined in the defense by American Crop Protection Association (ACPA), an industry trade group representing manufacturers whose products will be affected by the ruling. These manufacturers include Ciba Geigy, DowElanco, DuPont, Monsanto and Rhone Poulenc.

The District Judge ruled that neither defendent demonstrated that the common names or CAS numbers of inert ingredients are trade secrets. While the decision applies directly only to the six named pesticides, the plaintiffs believe that the decision will ultimately force EPA to release inert ingredient information for other pesticides.

In a recent press release, ACPA downplayed the impact of the ruling. According to an ACPA vice-president, the group is "pleased that protection of confidential commercial information concerning inert ingredients was upheld on a case-by-case basis. The decision essentially represents status quo."

Representatives of NCAP and NCAMP disputed the trade group's assertion, however, pointing out that the court's opinion sets a precedent that inerts are not exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In addition, NCAMP Executive Director Jay Feldman stated that "until now EPA has been rubberstamping claims of confidentiality -- now EPA will have to create a system for evaluating such claims."

Though the name "inert" implies these chemicals do not have significant impacts, inert ingredients may cause a range of environmental and toxicological problems including cancer, reproductive harm, endocrine disruption and acute poisoning. EPA has conceded that it does not have the information to assess the toxicity of more than three-quarters of the chemicals used as inerts. The majority of ingredients in many pesticide products are so-called "inerts" -- up to 99% in some cases. According to NCAMP, there are more than 2,300 inert substances added to pesticide products.

The herbicide Roundup, manufactured by Monsanto and marketed as an "environmentally friendly" chemical, is a case in which some of the known inert ingredients in some formulations have far greater toxicity than the active ingredient (glyphosate). Two of these ingredients, isopropylamine and polyethoxylated tallowamines (POEAs), cause a range of health problems including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, wheezing, burns, excess fluids in the lungs and eye, skin and gastrointestinal irritation. Glyphosate products were the third leading cause of both acute pesticide poisoning and skin and eye illnesses among California farm workers between 1984 and 1990.

* CAS refers to the Chemical Abstracts Service, an international journal that assigns numbers to chemicals for identification purposes.

Sources: "Court Rules That EPA Must Disclose Secret Ingredients in Pesticides," NCAP/NCAMP Press Release, October 17, 1996; Daily Environment Reporter, October 18, 1996; Journal of Pesticide Reform, Fall 1995; Jay Feldman, personal communication, October 25, 1996; "Court Ruling Grants Inerts Case-by-Case Confidentiality Protection," ACPA Press Release, October 24, 1996; Preventing Pesticide-Related Illness in California Agriculture, 1993. William Pease, et.al.

Contact: NCAP, P.O. Box 1393, Eugene, OR 97440; phone (541) 344-5044; fax (541) 344-6923; email ncap@igc.org