Meeting Notes—Abamectin FOCUS meetings

2/14/2013--With Cheminova, Nufarm, Tide, Ensystex III, Celsius Property, Tree Care Science, and 

Rotam

2/20/2013—With Syngenta

Topics Discussed:

 Registration review schedule: reg review docket opens 6/19/13; FWP publication August 2013; 

DCI expected to be issued August 2014

 Planned data requirements for abamectin’s registration review

human health:

1) immunotox—waiver will be submitted for this study 

2) subchronic inhalation toxicity--waived

3) subchronic dermal toxicity study--waived

ecological fate and effects:

1) aqueous photolysis

2) soil photolysis

3) aerobic soil metabolism

4) aerobic aquatic metabolism

5) anaerobic aquatic metabolism

6) anaerobic soil metabolism

7) 850.2100 acute oral toxicity to passerine birds

8) 850.1300 daphnia chronic toxicity

9) 850.3030 and 850.3040 field and residue effects on honeybees

10) 850.5400 algal toxicity 

11) 850.4400 aquatic plant toxicity 

12) oyster acute toxicity or bivalve acute toxicity

13) aquatic invertebrate acute toxicity with daphnia

14) fish acute toxicity--freshwater and marine

15) whole sediment toxicity--chronic invertebrates freshwater and marine

16) avian reproduction

17) 850.1400 early life-stage toxicity

18) seedling emergence

19) vegetative vigor

 EPA emphasized the need for a master label table. EPA will send a template for registrants’ use

 EPA requested production data for non-agricultural uses of abamectin—annual usage data also 

helpful; especially turf and ornamental use info (on a national level)

 EPA requested clearer labels with respect to some application parameters such as interval 

between applications, mimimum retreatment interval, and maximum number of applications/year, 

and total mass a.i. applied per year 
 EPA discussed the need for pollinator data—perhaps from open literature or from the EU

 EPA said registrants could submit open literature data (if available) for other data gaps

 EPA discussed other outstanding label issues for abamectin

o Grape REI (for inclusion on labels with use on grapes):

“Do not enter or allow worker entry into treated areas during the restricted-entry interval 

(REI) of 12 hours. Exception: For grape girdling, cane turning, and tying in grapes, do 

not enter or allow worker entry into treated areas during the restricted-entry interval 

(REI) of 4 days.”

o New environmental hazard language (for outdoor broadcast uses):

“This pesticide is toxic to fish and wildlife.

For terrestrial uses: do not apply directly to water, to areas where surface water is present, 

or to intertidal areas below the mean high water mark. Do not apply when weather 

conditions favor drift from target areas. Do not contaminate water when disposing of 

equipment wash water or rinsate. This product is highly toxic to bees exposed to direct 

treatment or residues on blooming crops or weeds. Do not apply this product or allow it 

to drift to blooming crops or weeds if bees are visiting the treatment area.

Use of this product may pose a risk to threatened and endangered species of fish, 

amphibians, crustaceans (including fresh water shrimp), and insects. All use of this 

product in the state of California should comply with the recommendations of the 

California Endangered Species Project. Before using this product in California, consult 

with your county agriculture commissioner to determine use limitations that apply in your 

area.

This product may impact surface water quality due to runoff of rain water. This is 

especially true for poorly draining soils and soils with shallow ground water. This 

product is classified as having a medium potential for reaching both surface water and 

aquatic sediment via runoff for several weeks to months after application. A level, well 

maintained vegetative buffer strip between areas to which this product is applied and 

surface water features such as ponds, streams, and springs will reduce the potential 

loading of abamectin from runoff water and sediment. Runoff of this product will be 

reduced by avoiding applications when rainfall is forecast to occur within 48 hours.”

o How to express quantities and maximum on labels for fire ant bait/granules:

Here are some of the directions showing how to express the rates per mound, per acre, 

when to use each, and the ultimate limit. This is taken from reg num 100-894 which is a 

0.011% granular. We've expressed limits as lb a.i. but you could translate to quantity of 

product (eg. 1 lb product/A). This is for a commercial use; if using residential landscapes

then you can leave the buffer strip text off. There are other directions on this particular 

label, we’ve just excerpted some parts.

MOUND TREATMENT
- Use 5 –7 tablespoons per fire ant mound. Sprinkle the bait uniformly in a circle around 

the base of the mound out to a distance of approximately 2 to 4 feet.

- Maximum Amount per Application: Do not treat more than 12 ant mounds per acre. If 

there are more than 12 mounds per acre to be treated then follow broadcast application 

directions. (We came up with the 12 mound limit by converting the 7Tbl per mound to a 

net a.i. per X square feet and found that if you went beyond the 12 mounds you’d be over 

the 0.01 lb a.i./A limit.)

BROADCAST TREATMENT

- Apply 0.00011 lb a.i./A using ground or aerial application.

RESTRICTIONS

- Buffer zone: To avoid hazard to aquatic organisms, do not apply within 25 feet of 

lakes, reservoirs, rivers, permanent streams, marshes, potholes, natural ponds, estuaries, 

or commercial fish ponds.

- Maximum Amount per Application: Do not apply more than .00011 lb a.i. per acre per 

application.

- Application Interval: When reinfestation occurs or when very large mounds remain 

active, areas may be retreated 3 to 4 months after the previous application; however do 

not exceed the maximum amount permitted per year.

- Maximum Amount per Year: Do not apply more than 4 applications per acre per year 

(0.00044 lb a.i. per acre per year).