. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/USA/278
17 May 2000
(00-2011)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  UNITED STATES
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible: Environmental Protection Agency - EPA
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, whereapplicable).  Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or
practicable:  Organophosphate Pesticides
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Organophosphate Pesticides;
Availability of Preliminary Risk Assessments - Malathion (3 pages plus risk assessment
document)
5. Description of content:  This notice announces the availability of documents that were
developed as part of the EPA's process for making reregistration eligibility decisions for the
organophosphate pesticides and for tolerance reassessments consistent with the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Actof 1996 (FQPA).  These documents are the preliminary human health risk assessments and
related documents for malathion.  This notice also starts a 60-day public comment period
for the preliminary risk assessments. Comments and data are to be limited to issues directly
associated with the organophosphate pesticide that has risk assessments placed in the
docket and should be limited to issues raised in those documents.  By allowing access and
opportunity for comment on the preliminary risk assessments, EPA is seeking to strengthen
stakeholder involvement and help ensure our decisions under FQPA are transparent andbased on the best available information.  The tolerance reassessment process will ensure
that the United States continues to have the safest and most abundant food supply.  The
Agency cautions that these risk assessments are preliminary assessments only and that
further refinements of the risk assessments will be appropriate for some, if not all, of these
organophosphate pesticides.  These documents reflect only the work and analysisconducted as of the time they were produced and it is appropriate that, as new information
becomes available and/or additional analyses are performed, the conclusions they contain
may change.
6. Objective and rationale: [  X ] food safety,  [     ] animal health,  [     ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [     ] protect territory from
other damage from pests           G/SPS/N/USA/278
Page 2
7. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [    ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:  Some differences currently exist between the
United States MRLs for organophosphate pesticides and CXLs under Codex Alimentarius.
Making these documents available at this stage is meant to increase transparency and publicinvolvement in the US tolerance reassessment process for organophosphate pesticides.
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available: 65 FR 30407,
11 May 2000 (Available in English)
9. Proposed date of adoption:  To be determined.
10. Proposed date of entry into force:  To be determined.
11. Final date for comments:  10 July 2000.
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  Environmental Protection Agency.
[    ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point, or address, fax
number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:  Detailed instruction on where
and how to send comments is in the body of the full text - which will be sent upon request
to the address in paragraph 12.
12. Texts available from: [  X ] National notification authority, [  X ] National enquiry point
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
United States SPS Enquiry Point/Notification Authority
USDA/FAS/FSTSDAttn: Carolyn F. Wilson
Room 5545 South Agriculture Building
Stop 1027
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250Phone (202) 720-2239
Fax (202) 690-0677
E-mail Address: ofsts@fas.usda.gov