Inert (other) Ingredients in Pesticide Products
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Inerts Ingredient Assessment Branch Pesticide products contain both "active" and "inert" ingredients. The terms "active ingredient" and "inert ingredient" have been defined by Federal law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), since 1947.
Name Change: From Inert to Other IngredientsIn September 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Pesticide Regulation Notice 97-6 which encourages manufacturers, formulators, producers, and registrants of pesticide products to voluntarily substitute the term "other ingredients" as a heading for the "inert" ingredients in the ingredient statement on the label of the pesticide product. EPA made this change after learning the results of a consumer survey on the use of household pesticides. Many comments from the public and the consumer interviews prompted EPA to discontinue the use of the term "inert." Many consumers are mislead by the term "inert ingredient", believing it to mean "harmless." Since neither federal law nor the regulations define the term "inert" on the basis of toxicity, hazard or risk to humans, non-target species, or the environment, it should not be assumed that all inert ingredients are non-toxic. |