. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/USA/397
19 February 2001
(01-0793)
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, where
applicable).  Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or
practicable:  Pesticides
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Atrazine;  Availability of
Preliminary Risk Assessment (3 pages plus risk assessment documents).
5. Description of content:  This notice announces the availability of documents that were
developed as part of EPA's pilot public participation process for making reregistration
eligibility decisions for the organophosphate and certain other, non-organophosphate
pesticides and for tolerance reassessments consistent with the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amended by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA).
These documents are the preliminary human health risk assessment and related documentsfor atrazine.  This notice also starts a 60-day public comment period for the preliminary risk
assessment.  Comments are to be limited to issues directly associated with the one pesticide
that has risk assessment documents 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 assessment, EPA is seeking to strengthen stakeholder involvement and help
ensure our decisions under FQPA are transparent and based on the best available
information.  The tolerance reassessment process will ensure that the United Statescontinues to have the safest and most abundant food supply.  The Agency cautions that risk
assessments at this stage are preliminary assessments only and that further refinements of
the risk assessments may be appropriate for this pesticide.  These documents reflect only the
work and analysis conducted as of the time they were produced and it is appropriate that, as
new information becomes available and/or additional analyses are performed, theconclusions 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           
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 pesticides and CXLs under Codex Alimentarius.  Making these
documents available at this stage is meant to increase transparency and public involvementin the US tolerance reassessment process for pesticides.G/SPS/N/USA/397
Page 2
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  66 FR 10287,
14 February 2001;  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:  16 April 2001
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [     ] National notification
authority, [     ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if
available) of other body:  Environmental Protection Agency.  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: [     ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
USDA/FAS/FSTSD
Attn:  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:  ofsts@fas.usda.gov