In 2022, EPA completed a draft biological evaluation for sulfoxaflor, evaluating the potential effects of sulfoxaflor on federally listed endangered and threatened (listed) species. This evaluation is part of EPA’s efforts to meet its obligations under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This work furthers the goals outlined in EPA’s April 2022 ESA Workplan to provide practical protections from pesticides for listed species.
The draft assessment finds that, overall, when compared to older insecticides like the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, and organophosphate insecticides malathion, chlorpyrifos and diazinon, sulfoxaflor is less persistent and less toxic to most species, which generally leads to lower risks to human health and the environment.
history
In May 2013, EPA registered sulfoxaflor; however, that registration was canceled by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after the court decided that the registration did not have enough data on the effects on bees.
In 2016, EPA reevaluated the data and approved registrations for crops that do not attract bees and for crops where sulfoxaflor would be applied when bees would not be present. These changes reduced the risk to bees below EPA's level of concern such that no additional data requirements were triggered.
EPA’s 2019 registration decision for sulfoxaflor adds the following new uses: alfalfa, corn, cacao, grains (e.g., millet, oats), pineapple, sorghum, teff, teosinte, and tree plantations. This action also restores citrus, cotton, cucurbits, soybeans and strawberries to the labels.
This decision also removes the following application restrictions originally put in place by the 2016 registration decision. Widely used alternatives do not have these restrictions and may pose higher risk to non-target wildlife than sulfoxaflor.
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