SMA 462 CONTENTS Statement of— Chaney, Donald J., chief counsel, Fish and Wildlife Service.. Congleton, Elliott, appearing for B. T. Babbitt, inc., New York.. Conner, John D., general counsel, National Assn. of Insecticide and Disinfectant Manufacturers, New York City. Constable, E. W., State Chemist, State of North Carolina, Raleigh, Garber, H. S., secretary to Congressman Ellsworth of Oregon.. George, J. M., Interstate Manufacturing Association, Winona, Min- Page 41 41 37 24 8 Heckendorn, William, National Council of Farm Cooperatives Reed, Harry, Director, Livestock Branch, Production-Marketing Thatcher, H. K., executive secretary, National Association, of Com- missioners, Secretaries, and Directors of Agriculture_ Watson, W. N., secretary, Manufacturing Chemists Association, III FEDERAL INSECTICIDE, FUNGICIDE AND FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 1947 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE No. 1, The subcommittee met at 10 a. m., Hon. August H. Andresen (chairman) presiding. Mr. ANDRESEN. The committee will come to order. The purpose of this hearing is to consider H. R. 1237, a bill to regulate the marketing of economic poisons and devices, and for other purposes. (H. R. 1237 is as follows:) [H. R. 1237, 80th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To regulate the marketing of economic poisons and devices, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act". DEFINITIONS SEC. 2. For the purposes of this Act a. The term "economic poison" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any insects, rodents, fungi, weeds, and other forms of plant or animal life or viruses, except viruses on or in living man or other animals, which the Secretary shall declare to be a pest. b. The term "device" means any instrument or contrivance intended for trapping, destroying, repelling, or mitigating insects or rodents or destroying, repelling, or mitigating fungi or weeds, or such other pests as may be designated by the Secretary, but not including equipment used for the application of economic poisons when sold separately therefrom. c. The term "insecticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any insects which may be present in any environment whatsoever. d. The term "fungicide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any fungi. e. The term "rodenticide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating rodents or any other vertebrate animal which the Secretary shall declare to be a pest. f. The term "herbicide" means any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any weed. g. The term "weed" means any plant which grows where not wanted. h. The term "insect" means any of the numerous small invertebrate animals generally having the body more or less obviously segmented, for the most part belonging to the class insecta, comprising six-legged, usually winged forms, as, for example, beetles, bugs, bees, flies, and to other allied classes of arthropods whose members are wingless and usually have more than six legs, as, for example, spiders, mites, ticks, centipedes, and wood lice. 1 i. The term "fungi" means all non-chlorophyll-bearing thallophytes (that is, all non-chlorophyll-bearing plants of a lower order than mosses and liverworts) as, for example, rusts, smuts, mildews, molds, yeasts, and bacteria, except those on or in living man or other animals. j. The term "ingredient statement" means either (1) a statement of the name and percentage of each active ingredient, together with the total percentage of the inert ingredients, in the economic poison; or (2) a statement of the name of each active ingredient, together with the name of each and total percentage of the inert ingredients, if any there be, in the economic poison (except option 1 shall apply if the preparation is highly toxic to man, determined as provided in section 6 of this Act); and, in addition to (1) or (2) in case the economic poison contains arsenic in any form, a statement of the percentages of total and water soluble arsenic, each calculated as elemental arsenic. k. The term "active ingredient" means an ingredient which will prevent, destroy, repel, or mitigate insects, fungi, rodents, weeds or other pests. 1. The term "inert ingredient" means an ingredient which is not active. m. The term "antidote" means a practical immediate treatment in case of poisoning and includes first-aid treatment. n. The term "person" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or any organized group of persons whether incorporated or not. o. The term "Territory" means any Territory or possession of the United States, excluding the Canal Zone. p. The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture. q. The term "registrant" means the person registering any economic poison pursuant to the porvisions of this Act. r. The term "label" means the written, printed, or graphic matter on, or attached to, the economic poison or device or the immediate container thereof, and the outside container or wrapper of the retail package, if any there be, of the economic poison or device. s. The term "labeling" means all labels and other written, printed, or graphic matter (1) upon the economic poison or device or any of its containers or wrappers; (2) accompanying the economic poison or device at any time; (3) to which reference is made on the label or in literature accompanying the economic poison or device, except to current official publications of the United States Departments of Agriculture and Interior, the United States Public Health Service, State experiment stations, State agricultural colleges, and other similar Federal or State institutions or agencies authorized by law to conduct research in the field of economic poisons; t. The term "adulterated" shall apply to any economic poison if its strength or purity falls below the professed standard or quality as expressed on its labeling or under which it is sold, or if any substance has been substituted wholly or in part for the article, or if any valuable constituent of the article has been wholly or in part abstracted. u. The term "misbranded" shall apply (1) to any economic poison or device if its labeling bears any statement, design, or graphic representation relative thereto or to its ingredients which is false or misleading in any particular; (2) to any economic poison (a) if it is an imitation of or is offered for sale under the name of another economic poison; (b) if its labeling bears any reference to registration under this Act; (c) if the labeling accompanying it does not contain instructions for use which are necessary and if complied with adequate for the protection of the public; (d) if the label does not contain a warning or caution statement which may be necessary and if complied with adequate to prevent injury to living man and other vertebrate animals, vegetation, and useful invertebrate animals; (e) if the label does not bear an ingredient statement on that part of the immediate container and on the outside container or wrapper, if there be one, through which the ingredient statement on the immediate container cannot be clearly read, of the retail package which is presented or displayed under customary conditions of purchase; (f) if any word, statement, or other information required by or under authority of this Act to appear on the label or labeling is not prominently placed thereon with such conspicuousness (as compared with other words, statements, designs, or graphic matter in the labeling) and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use; or (g) if in the case of an insecticide, fungicide, or herbicide when used as directed or in accordance with commonly recognized practice it shall be injurious to living man or other vertebrate animals, or vegetation, except weeds, to which it is applied, or to the person applying such economic poison. PROHIBITED ACTS SEC. 3. (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to distribute, sell, or offer for sale in any Territory or in the District of Columbia, or to ship or deliver for shipment from any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia to any other State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, or to any foreign country, or to receive in any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia from any other State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, or foreign country, and having so received, deliver or offer to deliver to any other person any of the following: (1) Any economic poison which has not been registered pursuant to the provisions of section 4 of this Act, or any economic poison if any of the claims made for it or any of the directions for its use differ in substance from the representations made in connection with its registration, or if the composition of an economic poison differs from its composition as represented in connection with its registration: Provided, That in the discretion of the Secretary, a change in the labeling or formula of an economic poison may be made within a registration period without requiring reregistration of the product. (2) Any economic poison unless it is in the registrant's or the manufacturer's unbroken immediate container, and there is affixed to such container, and to the outside container or wrapper of the retail package, if there be one through which the required information on the immediate container cannot be clearly read, a label bearing (a) the name and address of the manufacturer, registrant, or person for whom manufactured; (b) the name, brand, or trade-mark under which said article is sold; and (c) the net weight or measure of the content: Provided, That the Secretary may permit reasonable variations. (3) Any economic poison which contains any substance or substances in quantities highly toxic to man, determined as provided in section 6 of this Act, unless the label shall bear, in addition to any other matter required by this Act (a) the skull and crossbones; (b) the word "poison" prominently (IN RED) on a background of distinctly contrasting color; and (c) a statement of an antidote for the economic poison. (4) The economic poisons commonly known as a standard lead arsenate, basic lead arsenate, calcium arsenate, magnesium arsenate, zinc arsenate, zinc arsenite, sodium fluoride, sodium fluosilicate, and barium fluosilicate unless they have been distinctly colored or discolored as provided by regulations issued in accordance with this Act, or any other white powder economic poison which the Secretary, after investigation of and after public hearing on the necessity for such action for the protection of the public health and the feasibility of such coloration or discoloration, shall, by regulation, require to be distinctly colored or discolored, unless it has been so colored or discolored: Provided, That the Secretary may exempt any economic poison to the extent that it is intended for a particular use or uses from the coloring or discoloring required or authorized by this section if he determines that such coloring or discoloring for such use or uses is not necessary for the protection of the public health. (5) Any economic poison which is adulterated or misbranded or any device which is misbranded. b. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, no article shall be deemed in violation of this Act when intended solely for export to any foreign country and prepared or packed according to the specifications or directions of the foreign purchaser. c. It shall be unlawful (1) for any person to detach, alter, deface, or destroy, in whole or in part, any label or labeling provided for in this Act or the rules and regulations |