Inert ingredients in pesticide formulated products are defined as components not conferring the intended biological activity of the product. Many “inerts” are surfactants which inherently possess properties that disrupt lipid bi-layers such as cell and organelle membranes. Therefore the US EPA Inert Ingredient Assessment Branch evaluates these surfactants within the framework of human health risk assessment. A decade or so ago, many surfactant tolerance exemptions were revoked by the US EPA, which sparked the formation of the Joint Inerts Task Force (JITF). The JIFT evaluated groups of like surfactants and generated data on specific surfactants as representative of these different classes or "clusters" of chemistries. Many tolerance exemptions were subsequently reinstated without restriction, while others were reinstated with limits on percentage composition within pesticide formulations to ensure safe use and that acceptable human exposure levels are not exceeded.<br/><br/>Specific toxicology data may still be necessary for the Agency’s hazard characterization of new surfactants to inform their risk assessments, however the inherent properties of surfactants may present some challenges to the conduct of appropriate and relevant toxicology studies. In addition to reviewing the Agency data call in on surfactants through the JITF and the subsequent risk assessments, this presentation will highlight current toxicology testing requirements for inert tolerance petitions and important considerations in evaluating surfactants in toxicology testing systems.

Toxicology data supporting inert tolerance exemptions: Approaches to testing surfactants appropriately to inform human health risk assessment

254th National Meeting (2017)

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