Effective May 20, the Environmental Protection Agency has cancelled registrations of 12 neonicotinoid insecticides based on voluntary requests from product registrants, according to a May 20 Federal Register notice.
Under a December 2018 settlement agreement linked to an Endangered Species Act challenge by environmental groups, the companies voluntarily agreed to cancel 12 of 59 products that contain the active ingredients chlothianidin and thiamethoxan. Both are neonicotinoids, which have come under scrutiny for their link to bee die-offs.
The environmental groups filed suit in 2013 claiming the EPA did not first consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before registering the 59 products. The court sided with the plaintiffs in 2017 and ordered the registrants to draft a settlement.
The registrants are Syngenta Crop Protection, Bayer CropScience, Valent U.S.A. and Bayer Advanced, which sells to homeowners.
The canceled products are Meridian 0.20G; Meridian 0.14G; Avicta Complete Corn 500; THX_MXM_FDL_TMC FS; Adage Deluxe; Adage Premier; Emesto Quantum; V-10170 0.25 G GL Insecticide; Inovate Seed Protectant; Inovate Neutral Seed Protectant; Aloft GC G Insecticide; and Flower, Rose & Shrub Care III.
Of the dozen products, seven were for seed treatments.
Registrants may continue to sell and distribute existing stocks of the products until May 20, 2020, according to the agreement.