The Environmental Protection Agency and the manufacturers of the insecticide methomyl have agreed to cancel some uses and limit use on certain crops to reduce risks to drinking water. 

According to an EPA news release, from 1995 to 2013, exposure from food to carbamates, which includes methomyl, has fallen by approximately 70 percent. “Today’s action is a continuation of EPA’s efforts to reduce carbamate use, thereby protecting people’s health, especially the health of children who may be more sensitive to pesticides,” the release said.

EPA said it found drinking water risks during the periodic evaluation of methomyl and negotiated with the manufacturers to voluntarily cancel certain uses.

While Florida and California were the areas of greatest concern for risks from methomyl in drinking water, the following measures will be implemented nationwide:

EPA and the manufacturers reached agreement to stop making and selling some fly bait products and to add information to the label that clarifies the approved uses. EPA said these changes will reduce the illegal use of methomyl fly bait products which can kill wildlife, an issue that was reported to EPA by a number of states.

First registered 1968 and then re-registered in 1998, methomyl is restricted and must only be used by certified and trained applicators and has no residential uses. The only non-agriculture use of methomyl is in fly bait.

EPA will continue the registration review process for methomyl. The next step in that process is the release of the methomyl draft risk assessment in 2016. In November 2014, EPA asked for public comments on the requests to voluntarily cancel the uses of methomyl on barley, oat and rye. No comments were received. The nationwide agricultural mitigation measures can be viewed in the risk mitigation decision document available at EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0751 at www.regulations.gov.

Learn more about methomyl here: http://www2.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/methomyl