The Environmental Protection Agency opened a review of 22 Bt (Bacillus thurengensis) corn registrations, which are due to expire soon, on Aug. 4.
Public comments are open until Sept. 3.
An EPA announcement said that since the agency’s last comprehensive review of the registrations "we have concluded that Bt corn PIPs (plant incorporated protectants) have had a positive environmental impact, and we are proposing several actions to strengthen the insect resistance management requirements to ensure continued success in the prevention of the evolution of resistance in target pests."
"Since the commercialization of Bt crops, there have been a significant number of published field studies that, combined with the post-registration field studies required by EPA, have demonstrated that non-target invertebrates are generally more abundant in Bt cotton and Bt corn fields than in non-transgenic fields managed with chemical insecticides," according to EPA’s announcement.
"These published and registrant-produced studies demonstrate that, not only are the Bt crops not causing any unreasonable adverse effects on the environment, but arthropod prevalence and diversity is greater in Bt crop fields."
EPA reported it will require "enhanced compliance assurance programs" for refuges and "a phased requirement for seed bag labeling that clearly shows the refuge requirements." EPA also is proposing to "grant registrations for the corn PIP products for different timeframes, based on assessments of their likelihood of forestalling the evolution of insect resistance."
The Agency's comprehensive assessments of the 22 expiring registrations may be accessed at:
www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/registration-status.html under the heading Plant Incorporated Protectants in Corn.
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