In the last three days the U.S. EPA has made two announcements to change its pesticides program. On September 30, 2009, they announced that they will publish proposed rule making within the next few months to require disclosure of all pesticide inert ingredients. Typically, inert ingredients are only disclosed to U.S. EPA and are not disclosed to the public. U.S. EPA believes disclosure requirement will discourage the use of inert materials that may be hazardous. You can see the U.S. EPA announcement here.
The second announcement came today. To further increase transparency, the agency is establishing a process for the public to review and comment on pesticide risk assessments and proposed registration decisions. Starting TODAY, pesticide risk assessments and proposed registratioon decisions will be added to the public docket for a 30-day comment period. Read more here.