EPA to accept pesticide tests on humans:

[Senator Barbara Boxer] said the EPA rule is inconsistent with what Congress ordered. She said manufacturers could still conduct testing on pregnant women and children as long as they could convince the EPA that the researchers didn't intend to submit the results to the agency at the outset of the study.

Hazen said, however, that the only exception to the ban on accepting data, including that from pregnant women and children, involves cases in which the EPA becomes aware that it might need to take additional measures to protect public health.

However, she noted, "No pesticide company in the U.S. or in most countries would invest money in developing data to try and prove that EPA should regulate them more stringently."

The EPA expects a substantial increase in the number of tests it receives involving intentional exposure of humans to pesticides. The draft final rule said the agency anticipates receiving 33 such reports a year.

Lynn Siprelle, Editor