CHAL 34 |
| When the environmental and health impacts of pesticides are evaluated, the focus is normally on the active ingredients, but the inactive ingredients may be the real problem. Unfortunately, companies often classify the inert ingredients as proprietary or confidential business information, tying the hands of regulators and hampering the efforts of both public officials and the general public to understand the risks involved. This debate has been brought close to home in Monterey, California, where the state's Department of Food and Agriculture is aerially spraying residential areas with a microencapsulated pheromone intended to help control the light brown apple moth, an invasive insect species. When the EPA accidentally released the list of inert ingredients, the manufacturer rushed to state court to stop newspapers from printing the ingredients under California's trade secrets protection act, but was unsuccessful. However, the battle over inert ingredients can be expected to continue, and balancing valid public interests with valid business interests will fall primarily to the courts. |
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The Many Faces of CHAL: Where Chemistry Meets the Law
10:00 AM-12:00 PM, Thursday, April 10, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. 243, Oral
Division of Chemistry & the Law |