Meeting Notes -- norflurazon focus meeting
4/11/2013--With Syngenta
Topics Discussed:
   * Registration review schedule: reg review docket opened Sept 2012; FWP published March 2013; DCI expected to be issued December 2013

   * Syngenta provided label use and use rate clarifications and proposed to make potential label changes early in the process (i.e., removing farmstead uses, clarifying DFUs, and improved application directions).  There is a concern that if Syngenta revises their labels now, they may have to revise the labels again when registration review mitigation goes into effects several years from now.  But since norflurazon is unique in that there is only one registrant and a few registered products, the best time for revising the labels may be about 6-12 months before the publication of the Preliminary Risk Assessment.    

   * Syngenta intends to submit additional sales data to EPA.


   * Syngenta proposed potential approaches for geospatial analysis; EPA stressed that if Syngenta could tease out the geography of norflurazon use on a crop/use basis, then that would be helpful for the risk assessment. 

   * Syngenta proposed potential approaches for exposure refinements (including a probabilistic static pond modeling approach, use of PRZM runoff flux when modeling terrestrial plant exposure, and the need to characterize flow when modeling flowing water bodies); EPA stated that it was in the process of developing a new model approach for estimating terrestrial plant exposure.  EPA stressed that the shift to the new model would not take place right away.     

   * Syngenta proposed potential tools/approaches for risk characterization ( e.g., use of species sensitivity distributions and incorporation of probabilistic statistical techniques); EPA agreed that these approaches may be useful and stated that while the tools/approaches that Syngenta discussed are the direction of risk characterization, the Agency is not yet using them. 


   * Syngenta asked if EPA's science divisions were willing to look at proposed label changes and evaluate its effects on risk picture before such changes are submitted to RD.  EPA said it was willing to look at proposed label changes for norflurazon since norflurazon has only one technical registrant and a couple labels, but its ability to do so may be limited by time constraints and workload.  EPA stated that the process for implementing label changes as part of registration review was still being worked out.    
                  

