. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/USA/283
24 May 2000
(00-2112)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  UNITED STATES
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible: Environmental Protection Agency - EPA
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable).
Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:
Organophosphate pesticides
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Organophosphate Pesticides;
Availability of Preliminary Risk Assessments - Diazinon (3 pages plus risk assessment
document)
5. Description of content:  This notice announces the availability of documents that were
developed as part of the EPA's process for making reregistration eligibility decisions for the
organophosphate pesticides and for tolerance reassessments consistent with the Federal Food,Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as amende d by the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996
(FQPA). These documents are the preliminary human health and ecological risk assessments
and related documents for diazinon. This notice also starts a 60-day public comment period for
the preliminary risk assessments. Comments and data are to be limited to issues directly
associated with the organophosphate pesticide, diazinon, and its preliminary risk assessments.
By allowing access and opportunity for comment on the preliminary risk assessments, EPA is
seeking to strengthen stakeholder involvement and help ensure our decisions under FQPA aretransparent and based on the best available information. The tolerance reassessment process
will ensure that the United States continues to have the safest and most abundant food supply.
The Agency cautions that these risk assessments are preliminary assessments only and that
further refinements of the risk assessments may be appropriate. These documents reflect only
the work and analysis conducted as of the time they were produced and it is appropriate that,as new information becomes available and/or additional analyses are performed, the
conclusions they contain may change.
6. Objective and rationale: [  X ] food safety,  [     ] animal health,  [    ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [     ] protect territory from other
damage from pests           G/SPS/N/USA/283
Page 2
7. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [    ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:  Some differences currently exist between the
United States MRLs for organophosphate pestic ides and CXLs under Codex Alimentarius.
Making these documents available at this stage is meant to increase transparency and publicinvolvement in the US tolerance reassessment process for organophosphate pesticides.
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available: 65 FR 31902,
19 May 2000 (Available in English)
9. Proposed date of adoption:  To be determined.
10. Proposed date of entry into force:  To be determined.
11. Final date for comments:  18 July 2000
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  Environmental Protection Agency.
[    ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number
and E-mail address (if available) of other body:  Detailed instruction on where and how to
send comments is in the body of the full text - which will be sent upon request to the address in
paragraph 12.
12. Texts available from: [  X ] National notification authority, [  X ] National enquiry point or
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
United States SPS Enquiry Point/Notification Authority
USDA/FAS/FSTSD
Attn: Carolyn F. Wilson
Room 5545 South Agriculture Building
Stop 1027
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.Washington, D.C. 20250
Phone (202) 720-2239
Fax (202) 690-0677
E-mail Address: ofsts@fas.usda.gov