Americans vs. Poisonous Pesticides

Summary#

This bill changes the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to make clear that States can bring certain failure-to-warn lawsuits about pesticide labeling. It says a federal pesticide registration or label approval is prima facie (but not conclusive) evidence that the product meets the Act. The bill lets a pesticide registrant amend a label without prior EPA approval if the registrant or EPA gets information that the product may be misbranded for health or environmental effects. The EPA may later disapprove or take action about the amended label. The law would apply to civil actions pending when the law is passed and to new cases, and it does not change State damages or liability rules.

What it means for you#

• States and private parties can bring failure-to-warn claims that match the Act's misbranding standards.
• A pesticide company's federal registration or EPA label approval can be used as prima facie evidence that the product complies with the Act, but it is not an absolute defense in court.
• Pesticide registrants may add label information on their own when they obtain reliable information showing possible misbranding (examples of information listed include government reports, peer-reviewed studies, registrant data, whistleblower disclosures, discovery materials, congressional oversight material, and pesticide incident data).
• The EPA can later disapprove or take other enforcement action over such label changes.
• The bill applies to pending and future civil cases and does not limit State rules on damages or injunctive relief.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

Proponents' View#

The bill text preserves the right of States and claimants to bring failure-to-warn suits consistent with the Act's misbranding rules and creates a process for updating labels when new reliable information about health or environmental risks appears. It also makes clear that federal registration and label approval are evidence, but not an absolute shield, in State law claims.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.