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June 1, 2017

Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report Quotes Lynn L. Bergeson On Ruling Against Conditional Approval of Nanosilver Pesticide

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C.

On June 1, 2017, Lynn L. Bergeson, Managing Partner of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. (B&C®), was quoted in the Bloomberg BNA Daily Environment Report article “EPA Failed to Justify Nanosilver Pesticide Approval, Court Says.”
 

[…] Lynn Bergeson, managing partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C. told Bloomberg BNA the agency will need to issue some sort of stop sale or other order to implement the court’s vacatur.


EPA will then need to review the record and determine whether it has the evidence needed to address the court’s ruling, she said by email. The registrant also may need to supplement the record with better, more recent market data since the product presumably has been on the market for two years, said Bergeson, whose law firm advises companies that use nanoengineering to make chemicals and pesticides.


“Because EPA takes the position each nanosilver registration is ‘new’ for FIFRA purposes, other new nanosilver registration applications will need to be mindful of how best to meet the public interest finding, which is a heavy burden,” Bergeson said.


“On the whole, this is unwelcome news for the nano community. Perhaps the new administration could be persuaded to reconsider its ‘all nanosilver is new’ approach to avoid placing the heavy burden on new pesticide registrations that promise the commercialization of products with clear pollution prevention attributes,” Bergeson said.


The unwelcome aspect of the court’s ruling is underscored by the court’s conclusion that the EPA had sufficient evidence to show the nanosilver additive benefited the environment, she said.


The court said the EPA adequately supported its conclusion that the nanosilver additive would use less silver than conventional silver-based pesticides would. The agency also found the nanosilver additive would be less likely to release silver into the environment than would conventional silver-based pesticides.


“Many of us are of the view that ‘less is better,’” Bergeson said.


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