Campaign background information:

Nearly every one of the over 20,000 pesticide products in the U.S. contains ingredients that are called "inert." "Inerts," sometimes comprising up to 99.9% of a pesticide product, are used to make these products more potent or easier to use. The name does not mean that they are biologically, chemically, or toxicologically inert. In fact many inerts threaten human and environmental health.

NCAP campaign successes to date:

In October 1996, NCAP and the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides (now called Beyond Pesticides) won a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit forcing disclosure of most of the ingredients in six pesticide products. This opened the door for requesting the identities of inerts from EPA on a product-by-product basis. The groups were represented by the Western Environmental Law Center in Eugene, Oregon.

Upcoming activities/actions:

NCAP's goal is to get full disclosure of all product ingredients on pesticide labels. In January 1998, NCAP petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require listing of all ingredients on product labels. In July of 2001 the petition was formally denied by EPA. We are currently pursing legal action to force the agency to change this decision.

RESOURCES:

List of Inert Ingredients: EPA's web page, Inert Ingredients in Pesticide Products, provides a link to lists of inert ingredients.

Selected NCAP materials on pesticide inert ingredients:
Note: Some of the linked documents below are in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view these files, you can get free software called Adobe Reader

Identifying Inerts in a Pesticide Product

• Find inerts in specific pesticide products Click here!
• Identifying Pesticide Ingredients Using an MSDS. [MSDSs may list some inerts] (2000)    PDF   HTML
• Locating Information About Pesticide Inert Ingredients (1997)   PDF
• Sample Freedom of Information Act letter to the EPA    PDF

Articles & Reports

• Are "inert" ingredients in pesticides really benign? (1999)   PDF
• Inert Ingredients in Pesticides: Who's Keeping Secrets? (1999)   PDF    HTML
• Toxic Secrets: "Inert" Ingredients in Pesticides 1987-1997 [Report] (1998)   PDF
• Worst Kept Secrets: Toxic Inert Ingredients in Pesticides [Report] (1998)   PDF
• Hidden Toxic Inerts in Pesticide Products [Article] (1997)   PDF

Convincing EPA to Take Action

• Additional Groups Support Rulemaking Petition, (June, 1999)
• Rulemaking Petition submitted to EPA (January, 1998)
• Comments on EPA 1996 Consumer Labeling Initiative (signed by a coalition of 72 groups) (1996) PDF

NEWS RELEASES

• Tell EPA That Pesticide Labels Should Identify All Ingredients! December 2005 (Alert)
• EPA Must Review Pesticide Secrets. April 3, 2003. (News Release)
• Tell EPA you need more information about inert ingredients! March 2002 (Alert)
• EPA Delays in Ending Pesticide Secrets. 2000. (News Release)
• 80 More Groups Demand that EPA Require Disclosure of All Ingredients on Pesticide Labels. 1999. (News Release)
• Groups Petition EPA to Require Inert Ingredient Disclosure on Pesticide Labels. 1998. (News Release)
• New Report: Toxic Ingredients Hide as "Inerts" in Pesticides. 1998. (News Release)
• Pesticide Inert Ingredients Disclosure Court Victory. 1996. (News Release)