1. EPA’s Public Health Pesticide Initiatives
Lois Rossi,
Director, Registration Division
Office of Pesticide Programs
US Environmental Protection Agency
February 8, 2010

2. Outline of Presentation
Pesticide Product Registration Efforts
Special Initiatives
Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC)- Public Health Working Group
Bed Bug Initiatives
International Efforts
Organizational Changes
Contacts

3. Registration Efforts
Efficacy for Public Health Pesticides: Improving Efficacy Guidelines and Evaluations
Add testing of bed bugs from pyrethroid-resistant strains and field populations on a variety of surfaces; working with USDA/ARS on some new approaches to crack and crevice testing.
Working with USDA-ARS on standardized insecticide screening.
Drafting Standard Evaluation Procedure for science review of completed skin-applied insect repellent studies; procedure for new protocols is already established and on the Human Studies Review Board web site.

4. Registration Efforts
Efficacy for Public Health Pesticides: Improving Efficacy Guidelines and Evaluations
Finalizing efficacy guideline for skin-applied insect repellents.
Development of spatial repellent guideline is underway; SC Johnson has agreed to allow their field protocol into the public domain.
Following spatial repellent work of Uniformed Services University led workgroup and their recent publications.

5. Registration Efforts Other Activities
Discussing potential of new active ingredients for impregnated fabrics and consulting on development.
Keeping abreast of DoD work on insecticide delivery technology.

6. Registration Efforts Product Specific Data Call-In (Reregistration)
PERMETHRIN: Called-in product specific efficacy data for permethrin-treated fabric including uniforms; Responses from industry due soon.
ALLETHRIN: Called-in product specific efficacy data for soils and mats.
MALATHION: Called-in product specific adulticide data. Studies to begin soon.

7. Special Initiative - Forming Public Health Working Group
Creating a new public health working group under the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee.
Group to be balanced, representing stakeholders for pesticides to control pests with public health significance.
First meeting planned for Spring 2010.
Some issues that the workgroup may address include:
International work/data sharing initiative;
Label improvements specific to PH uses;
Follow-up to the Bed Bug summit;
Efficacy issues.

8. Special Initiative – Bed Bug Effort
National Bed Bug Summit – April 14 and 15, 2009
Goals and Objectives
Share information
Identify ideas and options
Develop recommendations for action
Included stakeholders from academia, government, industry
Conducted under the auspices of EPA’s PPDC

9. Special Initiative – Bed Bug Effort
Based on recommendations from the Summit, EPA is focusing its effort on:
Communications and education to encourage appropriate control techniques;
Integrated Pest Management efforts;
Development of new tools;
Coordination and outputs with the federal partners.

10. Special Initiative – Bed Bug Effort
Create a new web page comprised of three sections:
Bed bug identification/biology;
Control using IPM;
Pesticide tools (factsheets on)
$550K in education/outreach grants for communities with environmental justice concerns; request for proposals to go out in early Spring 2010.
Bed bug messages/education into IPM in schools program;
Funding a document on bed bug control practices in multi-family dwellings.

11. Special Initiative – Bed Bug Effort
EPA has organized an interagency taskforce on bed bugs
DoD, CDC, HUD, USDA/ARS, USA/NIFA, NIH
Inventory of existing research gaps
Working with CDC to highlight the public health impacts of bed bugs.
Efforts continuing with industry and academia to find additional new tools
Encouraging registration of new pesticide tools or adding the bed bug use to existing pesticides.
Recently added new use to control bed bugs (Temprid SC Insecticide)

12. Special Initiative – Bed Bug Effort
Moving forward: Reducing bed bug infestations requires collaboration
Local organizations to combat problems on a community–wide level;
States and local governments to provide legislative support and structure;
Federal government to facilitate information exchange, encourage research, and promote safe control.

13. International Initiatives
EPA participated in drafting and publication of the recently released WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme (WHOPES) Testing Guidelines for skin-applied repellents, space sprays, and household insecticides.

14. International Initiatives
Led organization of two international workshops focused on regulatory obstacles to bringing new pesticide tools to market.
The International Public Health Pesticides Workshop (London; May 2009). (Included over 100 participants from 22 countries).
Workshop confirmed the need for harmonization of the regulatory review process and data requirements for public health pest control tools among the different schemes operating internationally

15. International Initiatives
Workshop identified the following next steps:
Communicating the content and findings of the Workshop to a broader audience, initially by convening a meeting of regulators from developing countries.
Conducting a test case for global review of new public health pesticide products.
Initiating discussions with world regulatory authorities and WHO on regulatory review processes and data requirements specific to public health pesticides.

16. International Initiatives
EPA helped organize the 2nd workshop – The International Public Health Pesticides Workshop: Bringing New Pesticide Products to Market (Geneva; Sept.2009). (Included 26 pesticide regulators representing all UN regions.
Meeting highlighted the varying levels of capacity in developing countries and used their input to refine the strategy for moving forward.

17. International Initiatives
Strongly supported immediate follow-up to the workshop to ensure that the momentum is carried forward and identified the following next steps:
Consolidate the information gained for all stakeholders to prepare a pilot project for selected governments in disease endemic countries to participate in work-sharing to register new products for vector control; the project would provides for capacity building and increased cooperation both among relevant agencies within countries and for registration authorities among countries in a given region.

18. International Initiatives
Use existing structures and efforts both regionally and globally to form the foundation for any new activity to support work-sharing for registration of public health pesticides; WHO and Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention, with other stakeholders, should facilitate the preparation and implementation of follow-up activities including the establishment of a management team to guide the implementation of the test case exercise.
Make the donor community aware of the importance and benefits of these activities in order to gain their financial support.
Pledge to use every mechanism available to alert the political hierarchy in developing countries about this work.

19. International Initiatives
EPA/OPP is continuing to work with WHO and the Secretariat of the Stockholm Convention to develop a framework to carry the work forward.
Encouraging the product development community to propose product for the pilot project to intend the global joint review/work-sharing to public health pesticide products.

20. Organizational Changes
OPP Public Health Coordinator (Susan Jennings) is located in Registration Division
Creation of a new branch in Registration Division dedicated to public health pesticide products and related issues and initiatives.

21. Contacts Division Contacts: rossi.lois@epa.gov
Lois Rossi, Director, Registration Division, (RD)
George “Jeff” Herndon, Associate Director, (RD)
Susan Jennings, Public Health Coordinator
Branches:
Insecticide Rodenticide Branch:
Meredith Laws, Chief:
Insecticide Branch
Marion Johnson, Chief:
Kevin Sweeney, Senior Entomologist: