On March 17, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of the final guidance document entitled “Guidance for Waiving Acute Dermal Toxicity Tests for Pesticide Technical Chemicals & Supporting Retrospective Analysis” (EPA 705-G-2020-3722; Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OPP-2016-0093) that expands the potential for data waivers for acute dermal studies to single technical active ingredients (AI) used to formulate end-use products. This new guidance...
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On October 7, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is requesting comments on its draft guidance that would allow registrants, in certain circumstances, to forgo testing chemicals on animal skin to determine whether a pesticide would lead to adverse effects. This new draft guidance is part of EPA’s continued efforts to reduce animal testing and achieve its goal of eliminating all EPA requests for studies and EPA funding of studies on mammals by...
August 22, 2018
EPA Posts New FAQs on Honeybee Toxicity Testing for Registrants and Contract Laboratories
On August 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it was posting new frequently asked questions (FAQ) for registrants and contract laboratories conducting honeybee toxicity testing. EPA states that these FAQs are “made up of responses to inquiries EPA commonly receives about protocols used to generate honeybee toxicity data for submission in support of pesticide registration,” and are “meant to complement the Agency’s existing Pollinator Risk Assessment...
December 22, 2016
EPA Announces Start of Voluntary Pilot Program to Reduce Animal Testing
On December 20, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the start of a pilot program to evaluate the usefulness and acceptability of a mathematical tool (the GHS Mixtures Equation), which is used in the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). EPA states that the goal of the pilot program is to “evaluate the utility and acceptability of the GHS Mixtures Equation as an alternative to animal oral and inhalation toxicity...
On November 29, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the issuance of its new guidance for testing pesticides designed to reduce animal testing for acute dermal toxicity for pesticides, Guidance for Waiving Acute Dermal Toxicity Tests for Pesticide Formulations & Supporting Retrospective Analysis, in final. This guidance was issued as part of the Office of Pesticide Programs’ (OPP) Strategic Vision for implementing the 2007 National Research Council’s...
March 18, 2016
EPA’s OPP Releases Guidance Documents Related to Strategic Vision for Adopting 21st Century Science Methodologies
On March 17, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), announced in an open letter to stakeholders, that it has developed new tools to “enhance the quality of its risk assessments and risk management decisions and better ensure protection of human health and the environment from pesticide use.” These tools have been developed as part of EPA’s efforts to implement OPP’s Strategic Vision for Adopting 21st Century Science...
January 13, 2015
EPA Announces New Draft Guidance on Reducing Use of Lab Animals and Increasing Relevant Acute Toxicity Data on Pesticides
On January 9, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) announced that it released a new draft guidance document in its effort to help expand the acceptance of alternative methods for acute toxicity testing. EPA states that the rapid advances in science and continual development of new technologies, it recognizes there is an increasing potential for the use of alternative methods in regulatory risk assessments. EPA’s goals for alternative...