State FIFRA Issue Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG) Meeting

Last week, SFIREG met at EPA’s Crystal City headquarters for the final time in 2016.  The advisory group, made up of members from state lead agencies from across the nation, discussed a wide range of pesticide-related topics including harmonizing label language with respirator recommendations, insecticide use in aircraft cabins.  Anthony Lamanno, with the New York Department of Environmental Protection raised the issue of airlines requesting the use of insecticides in aircraft cabins, however no insecticide products are currently labeled for this use.  EPA also provided the full SFIREG with an update on the recently finalized Certification and Training Rule, which was released last Monday.  EPA staff reviewed a 17-page table detailing the original, proposed and final Certification and Training rule, revealing multiple substantive changes that would allow for much simpler implementation by states and compliance by pest management professionals.