Formulants/Inerts

Formulants/Inerts

Formulants (called Inerts in the U.S.): 'any substance or group of substances other than the active ingredient (AI) that is intentionally added to a pest control product to improve its physical characteristics (e.g. sprayability, solubility, spreadability or stability)' (definition from PMRA Reg2004-01)

versus Active ingredient (AI): the actual pesticide registered to be active in the formulation.

Why worry about formulants?

While the list includes several non-toxic products, many of the chemicals currently used are known or suspected toxins such as chemicals related to windshield washing fluid, endocrine disrupting substances such as phthalates (recently banned in plastic bottles) and various petroleum solvents including known cancer-causing toluene and benzene.

In Canada, as in the U.S. most of these formulants/inerts are still secret. Most of the work on formulants/inerts has been done in the U.S. As you see below, the disclosure battle is not yet won.

Public Comment Needed for Inert Ingredient Disclosure Guidelines(Beyond Pesticides, December 23, 2009) On October 1, 2009, EPA responded to two petitions; one by Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, and a second by several state

attorneys general, that designated more than 350 inert pesticide ingredients as hazardous. The petitioners asked EPA to require that these ingredients be identified on the labels of products that include them in their formulations. Out of over registered 1379 ‘inert ingredients’ called formulants in Canada, less than 20 have to be listed on labels.

Canada

As the Pest Management Registration Agency's web site may be difficult to use, and the documentsmay be large and cumbersome the following summary may be of help:

The number of formulants allowed in pesticide products in Canada dropped from 1588 formulants (REG 2004-01) to1379 (2007), of which 74 (5.38%) have no CAS identification number.

future link to formulants list analysis

future link to analysis of CropLife Canada's statement on formulants: : ‘A Quick Reference Guide for Pesticide Use in Municipalities.’ (CropLife 2003)

PMRA references

List of Formulants 2007 (or http://www.pmra-arla.gc.ca/english/pdf/reg/reg2007-04-e.pdf)

This document replaces Regulatory Note REG2005-01, PMRA List of Formulants. In this version, a list of formulant trade names, usually formulant mixtures, has been added to the list of single substance formulants.

Regulatory Note: PMRA List of Formulants (March 31, 2005, ISBN: 0-662-39992-7 (0-662-39993-5) Cat. No.: H113-7/2005-1E (H113-7/2005-1E-PDF) (REG2005-01)

The full document can no longer be accessed directly. An electronic copy must be ordered from

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/pest/_decisions/reg2005-01/index-eng.php.

PMRA- formulants_policy_memo-e 8-05 indicates that only allergens, list 1 formulants and substances listed as dangerous under other legislation (such as the Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). Of these, only 20 (1.45%) have to be listed on labels The 99 list 2 (potentially toxic) formulants remain secret, as do known toxins in other categories.

List of Pest Control Product Formulants and Contaminants of Health or Environmental Concern under the new Pest Control Products Act. (Notice of intent) (NOI2005-01)

Inert Ingredients (secret ingredients in pesticides) from NCAP, U.S. http://www.pesticide.org/factsheets.html

Some of the following NCAP articles are older, but much of the information on the toxicity of inerts/formulants is still valid. The most recent information is under the Inerts Disclosure Campaign

Are "Inert" Ingredients in Pesticides Really Benign? PDF

Inert Ingredients: Who's Keeping Secrets? PDF

Inerts Dislosure Campaign: (more articles)

Toxic Secrets: Ingredients in Pesticides, 1987-1997 PDF

Worst Kept Secrets: Toxic Inert Ingredients in Pesticides PDF