EPA Releases the First of Four Risk Assessments for Insecticides

Beeks—for all the members expressing abiding interest in the health of our bees, here is a concrete chance to make good on that feeling. The EPA is opening a public comment period regarding the prohibitions for use of NEONICOTINOIDS, the pesticides used worldwide more than any other. PLEASE—go to this link and sign up for the email alert the EPA will send out notifying you of the beginning of the comment submission period. It will take only a second !! IF you are a beekeeper, or just love bees, this is critical to your bees and all pollinators. From the notification I just sent on BeeCulture Magazine—

“The 60-day public comment period will begin upon publication in the Federal Register. After the comment period ends, EPA may revise the pollinator assessment based on comments received and, if necessary, take action to reduce risks from the insecticide.”

“In 2015, EPA proposed to prohibit the use of pesticides that are toxic to bees, including the neonicotinoids, when crops are in bloom and bees are under contract for pollination services. The Agency temporarily halted the approval of new outdoor neonicotinoid pesticide uses until new bee data is submitted and pollinator risk assessments are complete.”

“EPA encourages stakeholders and interested members of the public to visit the imidacloprid docket and sign up for email alerts to be automatically notified when the agency opens the public comment period for the pollinator-only risk assessment. The risk assessment and other supporting documents will be available in the docket today at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketBrowser;rpp=25;so=DESC;sb=postedDate;po=0;dct=SR;D=EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0844.”

Click on the link, and on the page that comes on, up in the right hand corner, is a BLUE printing of words—-
Sign-up for Email alert

When you sign up, you will be in the system to receive the opportunity to post remarks to the Environmental Protection Agency (the Federal Agency—EPA—that is supposed to protect our health, the environment, and bees, among many things…..) on the egregious nature of these persistent pesticides poisoning land, water, animals, plants and BEES.
Please do the right thing!