Subject:	Minutes of the 5/20/2009 ChemSAC Meeting

To:		HED’s Chemistry Interest Group

From:		HED’s Chemistry Science Advisory Council

Attendance:	Tom Bloem, Lee Cheng, Bill Cutchin, Nancy Dodd, Mike
Doherty, Will Donovan (Chair), George Kramer, Julie Langsdale, Rick
Loranger, Dennis McNeilly, Thurston Morton, Meheret Negussie, Laura
Nollen, Christine Olinger (Minutes), Debra Rate, Bernie Schneider, Dave
Soderberg,.  IR-4 Teleconference: Bill Barney, and Kathryn Homa.  PMRA
Teleconference: Jennifer Selwyn

1.  Approve 4/29/09 minutes.

These minutes had been previously discussed, but Will wanted additional
comments from Rick Loranger on penthiopyrad.  Rick had not had
sufficient time to review, but will send comments to Will directly. 
There was further discussion on the geographical representation for item
3, the corn field trials for ULV formulations of azoxystrobin.  The
registrant wants to conduct all trials in Georgia.  The ChemSAC
concurred with the registrant proposal, provided that the three trials
are truly independent.  For example, they shouldn’t prepare one batch
of tank mix and apply it to three adjacent fields.

2.  Miscellaneous ChemSAC Announcements

The alphabetical food and feed vocabulary available at   HYPERLINK
"http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/foodfeed" 
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/foodfeed  has recently been updated. 
Bernie also noted that Canada has recently updated their crop groups, so
he hopes to add the French names to the US food/feed vocabulary.  A
summary table prepared by D. Rate (ARIA) summarizing the uses of
chlorantraniliprole, and related SAC decisions, has been posted on the
ChemSAC database.  ChemSAC members are encouraged to review this table
and provide any recommendations for changes to the SAC.    

3.  S- metolachlor and diquat dibromide use on Calendula officinalis:
Food/Non-food decision (K. Homa, IR-4).

IR-4 has received a request from Neal Boughton, the Director of Agronomy
for Technology Crops Ltd., based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for
the use of S-metolachlor (PR# 10280) and diquat dibromide (PR# 10281) on
Calendula officinalis.  Calendula officinalis, more commonly known as
English Marigold, or Calendula, is an annual flower that originated in
southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean area.  Currently, this
plant is widely grown in the United States.  This plant, with its large
yellow to orange composite flowers, is also widely used as an
ornamental.  A member of the Asteraceae family, Calendula can also be
used for medicinal aids and food purposes including garnishes,
flavorings and colorings.  In addition, Calendula has recently gained
popularity as an oilseed crop for industrial use.  Oil from the
Calendula can be used in a number of valuable non-food use products
including paints, coatings and some industrial nylon products.  It can
also be used as a replacement for Tung oil.

Due to the success of Calendula in Europe, contract production of
Calendula is beginning in the United States and Canada.  Currently,
Technology Crops Ltd, a company that contracts the growing of many
specialty oil crops including high oleic sunflowers and high erucic acid
rapeseed, is looking to contract the production of Calendula in the
state of Minnesota.  S-metolachlor is needed to control weeds during the
growing season and diquat is needed as a dessicant to facilitate
harvest.

According to IR-4, the Calendula crops grown in Minnesota will be grown
for non-food use only.  The oil will be extracted from the harvested
seed and no component of the oil or residual meal will enter the human
or animal food chain.  Meal will either be used for soil improvement
purposes or will be incinerated.  Therefore, IR-4 is requesting non-food
use status for the use of S-metolachlor and diquat on Calendula.

Bernie has reviewed the Technology Crops Ltd. contract and agrees that
the controls are sufficient to ensure that treated Calendula will not
enter the human or livestock food chain.  Based on the presumed
effectiveness of the contract controls, the SAC recommended that IR-4
plan for a Special Local Needs (SLN) 24(c) registration in Minnesota,
but should first ensure that application rates are not higher than uses
on registered crops, to ensure that the existing rotational crop data,
for both S-metolachlor and diquat dibromide, will support this use. 

4.  Revisions to Crop Group 20:  Oilseeds (B. Schneider)

Bernie Schneider presented a proposed revision to Crop Group 20, adding
Calendula officinalis (aka Calendula) as a member of this group, as well
as the Sunflowers subgroup.  It is an opportune time, as there is
interest in this crop as noted in item 3 above, and establishment of
Crop Group 20 previously discussed in ChemSAC will be published in the
Federal Register shortly (ChemSAC minutes of 2/20/2007).

As noted above, oil from Calendula seeds has industrial, food, and
cosmetic uses.  Pest pressures are likely to be similar as other
oilseeds.  Currently Calendula is grown in Minnesota, but expansion to
other states with oil processing facilities is likely.  PMRA noted that
Calendula is being grown in several provinces in Canada, but has not yet
been added to the Canadian crop groups.

The ChemSAC concurred with Bernie’s proposal to add Calendula
officinalis to the oilseed crop group 20.  PMRA is currently amending
their directives for crop groups 8 and 11, and they hope to modify their
directive for crop group 20 at the same time or shortly thereafter.

5.  Approve/edit 5/13/09 minutes.

C. Olinger recommended adding a clarifying sentence to the item on
endothall.  There is an apparent discrepancy between the statement in
the second paragraph on the use of treated water for irrigation and the
statement in the third paragraph recommending against treatment of
irrigation ponds.

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