Carbofuran has been approved in the past to control pests, such as beetles, grasshoppers, aphids and other insects, for a variety of crops, including alfalfa, green coffee beans, cotton, potatoes, soybeans and certain types of corn. Granular carbofuran is approved for use on spinach grown for seed, pine seedlings, bananas in Hawaii, and cucurbits. Almost 1 million pounds of carbofuran are applied annually to U.S. crops.
EPA has just given notice that it has revoked the use of carbofuran on more than a dozen food crops, known as tolerances, after determining that residues of the insecticide failed to meet food safety standards under the FD&CA, and finding it present in water supplies. EPA found that populations exposed to carbofuran through their drinking water, primarily from shallow wells in areas treated with the pesticide, in addition to treated food crops, could be exposed to levels of carbofuran many times above safe levels; children were particularly adversely effected according to EPA’s analysis. EPA was also concerned about the ecological impact of the pesticide since it is toxic to mammals and especially to birds and certain fish. FMC Corp., the only pesticide manufacturer registered to use carbofuran, had voluntarily revoked 22 uses of the chemical in March, but EPA deemed the revocations insufficient in scope.
EPA's final rule, when it goes into effect Dec. 31, 2009, will ban the remaining four food-related applications of carbofuran, prohibiting residues of the chemical on all food crops in the U.S. EPA will address occupational and ecological risks by prohibiting remaining carbofuran registrations, such as the use on nonfood crops, when it issues a final notice of intent to cancel. Two nonfood applications, as well as carbofuran-treated export crops, are not affected by the EPA measure.