^®: CRE Regulatory Action of the Week

EPA's Science Advisory Panel Meets on Pesticides and Climate Change
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses Science Advisory Panels to advise the Agency on pesticide related issues. The SAPs are groups of scientific experts who do not work for EPA. EPA has announced there will be a 1-day meeting of the SAP to consider and review scientific issues associated with pesticide exposure models and climate change. The purpose of the meeting is for the Agency to seek advice on models for predicting human and ecological exposures to pesticides that might be appropriate to account for the effects of climate change.

The SAP meeting will be held on December 7, 2010, from approximately 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. EPA encourages that written comments be submitted by November 23, 2010 and requests for oral comments be submitted by November 30, 2010. However, written comments and requests to make oral comments may be submitted until the date of the meeting.

EPA explains in its Federal Register notice of the SAP meeting that

"The Agency recognizes that climate change will affect parts of its core mission. To achieve its core mission, EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) assessment methodologies must continue to provide high quality science-based predictions of the risks from exposure to pesticides. OPP is in the early stages of examining how well existing assessment tools may perform in light of climate change and if any modifications are needed to respond to changes in climate. OPP's initial effort is to examine its exposure models."