Only 26 Days Until OPP Moves to its New Location! Updated courier delivery information below!

EPA's Pesticide Program will be moving to a new location during the first week of May 2006.

Due to preparations for the upcoming move, Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) staff will not have access to Agency computer databases or email systems on April 7, 2006. OPP's computer servers will be up and running again on Saturday, April 8. Staff can be contacted on April 7 at their existing phone numbers, which you can find through EPA's Employee Directory ( http://cfpub.epa.gov/locator/index.cfm).

Effective May 8, 2006, EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs' new location will be:

One Potomac Yard 2777 S. Crystal Drive Arlington, VA 22202

Please note that this is the physical address of the new building; see below for mailing address.

Other changes related to the move: * from May 1 - 5, 2006, most staff will be unavailable at their assigned telephone numbers; however, they will have access to voicemail;

* from May 1 - 5, 2006, no hand-carried or courier deliveries will be accepted at either our current location (Crystal Mall 2, Arlington, VA) or the new location;

* mail delivered by U.S. Postal Service from May 1 - 5, 2006, will be held until May 8, 2006;

* after the move, the mailing address (Office of Pesticide Programs (Division Mail Code), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20460) and mail codes will remain the same, except that the "C" in our current mail codes will change to a "P";

* hand-carried or courier deliveries to the Document Processing Desk (7504P) will be accepted beginning on May 8, 2006, at Room S-4900, on the 4th floor of One Potomac Yard; and

* public comments may be delivered to the Docket in Room S-4400 beginning on May 8, 2006.

More information on the move will be sent out in Pesticide Program Updates over the next several weeks.

2) EPA Releases Revised Risk Assessments for Methyl Bromide Commodity Uses; Seeks Comment on Options to Reduce Risks ---

On Wednesday, March 29, 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Federal Register notice announcing the availability of its revised human health risk assessment for the commodity uses of methyl bromide, which was initially issued for comment on July 13, 2005. Methyl bromide is a broad-spectrum fumigant with a variety of pest control uses, and, is being phased out under the Montreal protocol. However, critical use exemptions will still be available under special circumstances. While most often used as a soil fumigant, methyl bromide is used on commodities in enclosures, chambers, and structural food processing/storage facilities, and has associated food residue tolerances. These commodity uses are the focus of the current risk assessment.

The Agency is seeking public comment by May 30, 2006, on risk-reduction options, including cost and benefits information, in order to develop a risk management decision that both meets the FQPA safety standard and provides for feasible and practical product use. The risk-reduction options identified are intended to address potential risks of concern to bystanders and workers associated with methyl bromide's commodity uses. Additionally, EPA is making available for comment the Agency's Office of Atmospheric Programs' assessment of the number of UV-related skin cancer incidents and deaths possibly due to ozone depletion caused by methyl bromide's commodity uses. Because the risks clearly result from use of methyl bromide products registered by the Agency's Office of Pesticide Programs as pesticides under FIFRA, the Agency believes it is appropriate to consider these cancer risks as part of the methyl bromide reregistration process.

Later this year, EPA plans to issue a revised risk assessment for the pre-plant soil fumigation uses of methyl bromide and several alternatives (metam sodium, dazomet, and chloropicrin) to consider potential risks and risk management strategies jointly for these pesticides.

By conducting assessments of older pesticides like methyl bromide, EPA is ensuring that all registered pesticides continue to meet current health and safety standards. The Agency's Phase 5 Human Health Risk Assessment for Commodity Uses of Methyl Bromide, and Risk Mitigation Options paper summarizing the risks and setting forth an initial 17 options for comment, are available in methyl bromide docket #EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0123 at http://www.regulations.gov. The Agency's assessment of UV-related skin cancer incidents and deaths is also available in the methyl bromide docket.

EPA's March 29, 2006, Federal Register notice is available in the docket, at http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr, and on the Agency's methyl bromide web page, http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/methyl_bromide/ . For information about EPA?s ongoing review of soil fumigant pesticides, including methyl bromide, see http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/reregistration/soil_fumigants/index.htm .