On April 28, 2021, the US EPA announced the suspension of expediting review of surface-use disinfectants, which the recent information from CDC that the risk of being infected with COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces is considered low.

On April 8, 2021, the US EPA opened a 30-day public comment period regarding the proposed decision to conditionally register the first residential outdoor use of the insecticides cyclaniliprole and flonicamid on roses, flowers, shrubs, and small (non-fruit bearing) trees. The agency is proposing to register three new products: an individual manufacturing-use product for each of the two active ingredients and one end-use product formulated with both active ingredients.

1.[EU BPR]The First opinion on Union authorization was adopted The Biocidal Products Committee (BPC) supported applications for EU-wide access to the market  of two biocidal product families containing iodine/PVP-iodine for use in veterinary hygiene on 20 December 2017. It is the first opinion supporting applications for Union authorization which means that it is realized successfully that companies are allowed to place their biocidal products on the market throughout the entire Union with one authorization form. 2.[US EPA-FIFRA]Pesticide Registration Improvement Extension Act (PRIA 4) will recently be updated PRIA 3 is about to expire and PRIA 4 will enable after PRIA 3 is invalid. While PRIA 3 was originally set to expire December 8, 2017, now for the duration of that Continuing Resolution period, it has been extended until January 19, 2018. When PRIA 4 is expected to be enabled, a number of new registration types, such as disinfectant devices identification, will be added, as well as additional review costs. 3.[Chinese disinfectant products] The relevant standards for relevant Chinese disinfectant products are to be issued. NHFPC (National Health and Family Planning Commission) is working to formulate or revise relevant standards for disinfection products, including the classified catalogue of disinfection products, hygienic safety evaluation, test contents, disinfecting wipes, etc. These are expected to be announced in the first half year of 2018. 4.[EU BPR]Draft guidance for identifying endocrine disruptors was issued This draft guidance for identifying endocrine disruptors which will be used to evaluate pesticides and biocides has been developed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) with the support of the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). ECHA and EFSA are inviting interested parties to comment on the draft guidance document for the identification of endocrine disruptors under EU legisl

In the United States, the overarching regulation on pesticide management is the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act(FIFRA), which specifies the definition of a pesticide as: any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest, or use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant, as well as any nitrogen stabilizer. On day two of the Chemical Regulatory Annual Conference, Mr. Robert Kiefer from Reach24H USA introduced the regulatory system of pesticide and antimicrobial products in the US. Overview of Requirements for US Pesticide Registration Laws and Regulations All pesticides (including imported pesticide) sold or distributed in the US are required to be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).However, if the substance falls under the category of liquid chemical sterilizing agent, nitrogen stabilizer, human drug, animal drug, animal feeds (vitamin hormone products) or is intended to aid the growth of desirable plants, it is excluded from regulation by FIFRA. In addition, pesticides are regulated by the EPA under a series of supporting regulations. The name and EPA’s function under associated regulations are summarized as follow: Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) – requires all pesticides sold or distributed in the U.S. (including imported pesticides) to be registered by EPA Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) – requires EPA to set pesticide residue tolerances for all pesticides used in or on food Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA) – established safety criteria of “reasonable certainty of no harm”, and EPA must review pesticide registrations every 15 years Pesticide Registration Improvement Act of 2003 (PRIA) – established pesticide registration fees and defined Agency  timelines Regulations implementing the pesticide statutes a