CEH

We’re not Cockroaches, EPA. Tell Us What's in that Toxic Spray!

Take a close look at the fine print on a can of Raid, a bottle of Cutters, a jug of RoundUp, or just about any pesticide on the market today, and you’ll see these words: “inert ingredients.”

Inert ingredients are the thousands of chemicals that the pesticide industry is allowed to keep secret. We’ve discovered what some of these chemicals are, and they are anything but inert. Some cause cancer, genetic damage, reproductive harm, and other serious health problems.

So here’s the situation: the pesticide industry is allowed to put secret toxic chemicals in products that families use, and it’s allowed to pretend they are “inert.”

It’s a twisted game, and they’re playing it with our families’ health.

Between now and April 23, you have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something about this. That’s because EPA recently announced that it’s considering requiring pesticide companies to disclose inert ingredients.

Health advocates have been pushing for this for more than twenty years.

EPA is accepting public comments on its proposal until April 23, and it needs your support. Please take action today to demand your right to know when pesticide companies expose you to toxic chemicals. And share this vital opportunity with your friends and family. By signing on to our letter, you can help the EPA resist the pesticide industry’s effort to keep you in the dark. Our web form makes it easy and fast, and it unites you with others around the country who believe that, when it comes to our families’ health, there should be no secrets.

With your help, we can close the pesticide industry’s inert ingredient loophole. It’s an opportunity we can’t afford to miss!

Kerry Leifer
Office of Pesticide Programs
(OPP) Regulatory Public Docket (7502P)
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.
Washington, DC 20460–0001

Dear Mr. Leifer:
 
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's proposal to seek disclosure of inert ingredients. We are people who buy and use pesticides, or may do so in the future, or are affected by pesticides used in public places, offices, and elsewhere.. We are also affiliated with institutions (for example, schools, churches, cities and towns) that may use pesticides and can participate in the decisions those pesticide consumers make.
 
We support EPA's proposal to require that pesticide product labels identify inert ingredients that have already classified as hazardous by EPA. We support the use of the lists identified in the 2006 petitions concerning this issue to identify these hazardous inerts. We support this action now as a relatively quick interim step while EPA moves forward with more complete disclosure.
 
We also support EPA's proposal to require complete or almost complete disclosure of inert ingredients on pesticide product labels. We request that EPA begin this process now and move forward with it as soon as is possible.
 
Identifying inert ingredients on the label will help those of use who have allergies or sensitivities and need to avoid particular chemicals. It will also help paramedics, doctors and other health professionals who need to make treatment decisions quickly for a patient. In addition, it will help those who purchase pesticides because they will be able to easily identify the products with less hazardous ingredients.
 
We know that names of some of the inert ingredients are complicated chemical names that most of us will not recognize. However, we know that we can ask nonprofit organizations, physicians, and scientific researchers for help in understanding the toxicology and environmental impacts of these chemicals. We also can make use of the many sources of online information. This information will allow us to understand the risks to people who are exposed to the product as well as the broader environmental risks.
 
Thanks for the opportunity to comment on this important issue.

0-25 of 2324 signatures

Number	Date	Name
2324	March 05, 2013	Lizbeth Orantes
2323	March 05, 2013	phyllis barr
2322	March 05, 2013	cindy johnaon
2321	February 13, 2013	Patricia Kenschaft
2320	January 31, 2013	david flores
2319	December 15, 2012	Jodi Redlich
2318	December 13, 2012	herb wyand
2317	December 09, 2012	Ellen Blackmore
2316	December 08, 2012	Jennifer Salvo
2315	December 08, 2012	Filipinas Cobler
2314	December 08, 2012	Natalie Ellsworth
2313	December 08, 2012	Rita Rainey
2312	December 08, 2012	Schuyler Ewin
2311	May 14, 2012	John Matta
2310	April 12, 2012	Dirk Rogers
2309	March 28, 2012	Vincent Pickhardt
2308	November 26, 2011	Ralph Culpepper
2307	May 07, 2011	carol grant hart
2306	May 05, 2011	Beth Brenneman
2305	April 21, 2011	Syvonne Forkin
2304	March 19, 2011	Dana Pearl
2303	October 18, 2010	Jennifer Lyle
2302	August 04, 2010	Merlene Rhodes-Stuerzer
2301	July 30, 2010	Edward Boesen
2300	June 01, 2010	Lynne Banta

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