This Act requires the EPA to reassess margins of safety for 10,000 uses of various pesticides.
February 29,2000 is the deadline for the agency to have finished the first third of the pesticides.
The announced changes include METHYL PARATHION and AZINPHOS-METHYL.
Methyl parathion (Penncap-M) will be banned beginning in 2000 for fruits and other foods - but it will still be allowed for use on cotton and on wheat.
Azinphos-methyl (Guthion) can be used on plants, such as apples, pears, sugar beets, and more, but use must stop at least 21 days before harvest.
This is a change from current use up to 14 days now in effect.
These two agents are examples of organophosphate insecticides. There are about 40 such compounds in use today.
The EPA will announce soon a timetable for how quickly it will act on the remaining pesticides.
The EPA is also expected to begin requiring pesticide makers to test for the effects of organophosphates - which are neurotoxins - on children's developing brains.