Policy Concentrates
PESTICIDES
POLICY
C R E D I T: U N I V E RS IT Y O F AR KAN SAS CO O P E RAT I VE EXT E N S I O N SE RVI CE (S OY B EA N S); DAVE N E LS O N / S H U T T E RSTO CK (CLEAN I N G PRODUCTS)
Immigration ban hurts science, advocates say A recent ban on U.S. immigration from eight countries will weaken the nation’s science and engineering base, a group of science advocacy groups said last week. In a letter to President Donald J. Trump, over 80 organizations said the ban is already having an impact. “The White House statements and associated policies are discouraging many of the best and brightest international students, scholars, and scientists from choosing the United States as the ideal nation for studying and working, attending academic and scientific conferences, and seeking to build new businesses,” the letter said. “In fact, we are now seeing visas being denied to scientists wishing to speak at scientific conferences in the United States.” The letter’s signatories include the American Association for the Advancement of Science, ACS, and other science, engineering, and education groups. ACS publishes C&EN. On Sept. 24, the Trump Administration issued the most recent in a series of orders banning immigration from several primarily Muslim-majority countries. The most recent ban covers Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. As of C&EN’s deadline, this immigration ban had been struck down by two federal courts that cited religious discrimination, as have several previous legal rulings against the President’s immigration restrictions. The Administration said it will appeal the decision.—ANDREA
WIDENER
EPA restricts dicamba herbicide In the wake of thousands of complaints of damage to crops in the U.S. from the herbicide dicamba drifting off neighboring fields, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and pesticide makers have reached an agreement to impose restrictions on the herbicide’s use. Dicamba products sold for the 2018 growing season will be classified as restricted use, meaning they can be applied only by a certified applicator with special training. Other changes include limiting dicamba spraying to Cl O when winds are less than OH 16 km/hour, restricting spraying to certain times Dicamba damages OCH3 of the day, and requiring farmers to keep records soybeans that are Cl of dicamba use. not genetically Dicamba Farmers are increasengineered to ingly spraying dicamba on soybeans and tolerate the cotton that have been genetically engiherbicide. neered to tolerate it, as weeds are becoming resistant to other herbicides such as glyphosate. But soybeans that have not been genetically engineered to tolerate dicamba are particularly susceptible to its damage. State agencies in Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee worked with EPA and pesticide manufacturers to investigate complaints of dicamba damage to nontolerant crops since 2015. Dicamba manufacturer Monsanto is confident that increased training and record keeping will “address the main causes of off-target movement,” says Ty Vaughn, Monsanto’s global regulatory lead. EPA says that it will monitor whether the changes reduce dicamba damage to nontarget crops as the agency decides whether to allow use of the herbicide beyond 2018.—BRITT ERICKSON
LEGISLATION
California requires disclosure of cleaning ingredients Makers of cleaning products sold in California will have to reveal ingredients online and on product labels under a firstof-its-kind law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Oct. 15. New York is expected to
soon finalize a regulation requiring similar disclosure of cleaning product ingredients. “People around the country and especially Californians are demanding more disclosure about the chemicals in products we use,” says California state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D), who sponsored the legislation. The California law applies to ingredients in general cleaning, air care, automobile care, and floor maintenance products. Fragrance compounds that are listed as allergens by the European Union must be disclosed. The chemical identities of other fragrance compounds, ingredients that are trade secrets, and colorants are exempt from disclosure. Manufacturers will have to provide
information about ingredients on product websites as of 2020. The law requires ingredients be listed on labels of cleaning products sold in the state starting in 2021. The Consumer Specialty Products Association, an organization of companies that formulate affected products, backs the California measure. CSPA says the new law balances consumer and worker demands for information with businesses’ needs to protect proprietary data. Companies supporting the bill include cleaning product makers Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser, SC Johnson, Seventh Generation, Unilever, WD-40 Company and fragrance maker Givaudan.—CHERYL HOGUE OCTOBER 23, 2017 | CEN.ACS.ORG | C&EN
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