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Pesticide Reform Act of 1994

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 5, 1994

Pesticide Reform Act of 1994 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to replace provisions relating to tolerances for pesticide chemicals in or on raw agricultural commodities with provisions relating to tolerances and exemptions for pesticide chemical residues. (Sec. 3) Deems a pesticide chemical residue unsafe, unless it is within an established tolerance or an exemption is in effect. Requires a tolerance or exemption for a pesticide chemical residue for a food to apply to all foods derived from such food unless a tolerance specifies otherwise. Requires expiration dates for tolerances for pesticide chemicals to be: (1) the expiration date for the chemical established under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); or (2) 18 years after the date the tolerance is established, whichever occurs first. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a separate tolerance for a pesticide chemical residue with respect to food at any point in the chain of production or marketing. Prohibits a tolerance for a pesticide chemical residue in or on food from being established or left in effect unless the residue permitted under the tolerance is safe. Prohibits a tolerance from being established or left in effect for pesticides found to induce cancer in humans or animals based on reliable scientific evidence, unless the Administrator finds on the basis of conservative methods of risk assessment that risk is negligible for all anticipated consumer exposures to such residue. Requires tolerances for residues that may pose dietary risks of adverse health effects other than cancer to provide an ample margin of safety. Provides for the periodic review and revision, as necessary, of risk assessment procedures used to make safety determinations. Sets forth factors to be evaluated by the Administrator in determining whether to establish, modify, or revoke tolerances for pesticide chemical residues on food. Includes within such factors risks to infants and children. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct surveys to document dietary exposure to pesticides among infants and children. Requires, if a tolerance or exemption is revoked and the residue will unavoidably persist in the environment and be found in food, that a new tolerance be established at a level no greater than the level that permits only the unavoidable levels to remain in the food. Conditions establishment and continuation of a tolerance on the existence of a method of multiresidue detection that can be performed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services on a routine basis as part of surveillance and compliance sampling for residues. Directs registrants of pesticide chemicals for which tolerances have been established to provide the Administrator with a pesticide reference standard for such chemicals to be certified by a competent laboratory. Requires the Administrator to maintain a repository of such standards, audit the certifications, and make such standards available to requesting laboratories. Allows: (1) establishment, modification, or revocation of a tolerance or establishment or revocation of an exemption from a tolerance in response to a petition or on the initiative of the Administrator; and (2) an exemption if the residue is not a human or animal carcinogen and presents no risk to human health at any level that is likely to occur under extreme conditions of use from dietary exposure. Authorizes any person to petition the Administrator for the establishment, modification, or revocation of a tolerance or exemption. Requires the Administrator, if granting an exemption for emergency purposes for a pesticide chemical under FIFRA, to establish a tolerance or exemption for such chemical's residue. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations for exempting new pesticide chemicals intended solely for use by experts to investigate the safety of such chemicals. Requires the Administrator to publish a list of pesticide chemical residues that are generally recognized as safe. Directs any person who, before this Act's enactment, distributed any pesticide chemical in commerce that produces a residue that is not listed, to provide the data that supports the claim that the residue is safe. Requires the Secretary to conduct surveillance and compliance enforcement monitoring of food for pesticide chemical residues. (Sec. 4) Authorizes employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, if there is reason to believe that any food is adulterated due to unsafe pesticide residues, to detain the food for a specified period. (Sec. 6) Permits the Secretary to require manufacturers, processors, or distributors to recall food deemed to be adulterated from unsafe pesticide residues. (Sec. 7) Directs the Administrator to identify tolerances and exemptions for existing pesticide residues that do not appear to meet the requirements of this Act and requires the submission of data for maintenance of such tolerances and exemptions. Establishes deadlines for final determinations on whether tolerances and exemptions meet requirements and for the submission of data.

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Who introduced it

Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA] · D–MA

Committees

  • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
0 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

    Actions

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    1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.

    2. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5301-5302)

    3. Introduced in Senate

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