EPA revamps pesticide database

EPA’s Pesticide Program has released a new online searchable database, called Inert Finder.

This database allows pesticide formulators and other interested parties to easily identify chemicals approved for use as inert ingredients in pesticide products. It will allow registrants developing new products or new product formulations to readily determine which inert ingredients may be acceptable for use as well as making this same information more readily available to the public.

Users can search for inert ingredients by chemical name or Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) Registry Number to determine whether inert ingredients are approved for products that have food or nonfood uses. Search results will also provide any applicable use limitations and will flag inert ingredients for which companies have asserted data compensation rights.

Inert Finder was developed in response to a longstanding need expressed by the regulated community and others for a resource that consolidates the several lists of approved inert ingredients into a readily searchable format. For food use inert ingredients, Inert Finder includes links to the Code of Federal Regulations, which is the legal record regarding inert ingredients that have exemptions from the requirement of a tolerance for residues on food. The system does not include information about ingredients in individual pesticide products.