Inert Ingredients in Pesticides: Who's Keeping Secrets

Which Manufacturers disclose inerts and who doesn't

by Caroline Cox



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Which Manufacturers Withhold Information About Inerts?

According to the trade associations that represent the pesticide industry, the inerts issue is relatively simple. Pesticide manufacturers need to protect the identities of the inert ingredients they use in their pesticide products. As stated by the American Crop Protection Association and five other collaborating trade organizations, "Inert ingredients play a significant role in achieving the unique characteristics of a product. Thus, maintaining the confidentiality of the use of these ingredients is extremely important."(30)

When questioned individually, however, pesticide manufacturers' policies vary widely. A few manufacturers (Monsanto Co.(31) have stated that they will identify inert ingredients to anyone who asks. Others (Lilly/Miller(32) and DuPont(33) state that the decision to provide information about inerts is made on a case-by-case basis, in line with the decision in NCAP's FOIA lawsuit. Still others (Astra Zeneca,(34) Novartis,(35) and Uniroyal Chemical Company(36) assert a claim of confidentiality that goes beyond the legal guidelines. Many did not respond to NCAP's request for a description of their policies.

How manufacturers act, however, is clearly more important than how they describe their policies. Based on the Freedom of Information Act requests that EPA has answered in the last three years, we can start to identify which manufacturers are willing to provide inert ingredient information to the public. Table 1 identifies manufacturers that have provided and manufacturers that have withheld information about the identity of inert ingredients. (Note that some manufacturers are listed twice, as they have provided the identity of some inerts but withheld the identity of others.)

Although this sample of responses is still small (just over 100 products and 35 manufacturers), the message is clear. When forced by the Freedom of Information Act to decide whether they need to withhold the identity of inert ingredients, most manufacturers opt for disclosure.


Companies that have identified inert ingredients
AgrEvo (partial information) (1) (2)
American Cyanamid (partial information) (3)
BioDyne Americas Corporation (4)
Carroll Company (4)
Chas H. Lilly Co. (5)
Continental Coatings (4)
Dow AgroSciences LLC (DowElanco) (3, 6-8)
DowBrands L.P. (9)
DuPont (partial information) (3)
Ecogen, Inc. (10)
GB Biosciences Corporation (1)
Health-Chem Corporation (11)
Hi-Tek Chemical Corporation (12)
Hi-Yield Chemical Company (13)
Howard Fertilizer Company, Inc. (14)
Kop-Koat, Inc. (15)
Lebanon Fertilizer (19)
Midland Chicago Corporation (15)
Monsanto Company (3,16)
Olin Corporation (10)
Platte Chemical Company (1,9,13)
Plato Industries, Inc. (11)
Prentiss Incorporated (9)
Professional Disposables Inc. (5)
Pursell Industries, Inc. (17)
Realex, Div. of United Industries Corporation (6)
Rhone-Poulenc Ag. Co. (1, 5)
Sandoz Agro, Inc. (15)
Schneid Professional Disposables, Inc. (18)
Sea-Master Marine Coatings, Inc. (11)
Uniroyal Chemical Co. (partial information) (20)
The Valspar Corporation (1, 9)
Voluntary Purchasing Group (13)
Whitmire Micro-Gen Research Laboratories (1, 9)

Companies that have withheld inert ingredient information


AgrEvo (partial information) (2)
American Cyanamid (partial information) (3)
Amrep, Inc. (21)
DuPont (partial information) (3)
Hartz Mountain Corporation (22)
IBC Manufacturing (23)
The Scotts Company (6)
Uniroyal Chemical Co. (partial information) (19)

Sources:

1. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1999. Letter from C. Furlow to H. Knight, NCAP, July 12.

2. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to C. Cox, NCAP, Apr. 21.

3. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1999. Letter from C. Furlow to D. Goodman, Northern Appalachian Restoration Project, Mar. 9.

4. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to N. Grier, NCAP, Nov. 14.

5. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1998. Letter from C. Furlow to N. Grier, NCAP, Feb. 4.

6. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1999. Letter from C. Furlow to C. Cox, NCAP, Feb. 22.

7. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1998. Letter from C. Furlow to C. Cox, NCAP, June 5.

8. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to K. Juul, NCAP, June 13.

9. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1999. Letter from C. Furlow to S. Marquardt, July 12.

10. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to N. Grier, NCAP, Mar. 19.

11. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to N. Grier, NCAP, Apr. 4.

12. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1998. Letter from C. Furlow to N. Grier, NCAP, Feb. 27.

13. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1998. Letter from C. Furlow to C. Cox, NCAP, Nov. 30.

14. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to K. Juul, NCAP, Apr. 18.

15. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to N. Grier, NCAP, May 22.

16. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1999. Letter from C. Furlow to C. Cox, NCAP, May 3.

17. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to K. Juul, NCAP, Mar. 27.

18. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to N. Grier, NCAP, July 25.

19. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to K. Juul, NCAP, Mar. 12.

20. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to K. Juul, NCAP, Feb. 13.

21. Amrep, Inc. 1997. Letter from S.V. Knapp, director of regulatory affairs, to S.Y. Street, U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch, June 4.

22. U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch. 1997. Letter from C. Furlow to P. Orum, Working Group on Community Right to Know, Jul. 25.

23. IBC Manufacturing Company. 1997. Letter from C.I. Utrata, attorney, to S.Y. Street, U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. Public Information and Records Integrity Branch, Nov. 10.  

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