Posted on September 14, 2018 by rhallberg
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) provides this update of spotted lanternfly (SLF) activities in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware. SLF feeds on more than 70 types of plants, including crops such as grapes, apples, hops, walnuts, and other hardwood trees. SLF suck sap from stems and leaves, damaging plants as they feed. APHIS and state cooperators continue to work together to assess the affected areas and implement a program response to detect, contain, and suppress SLF populations in order to reduce the pest’s spread. Continue reading →
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Posted on September 14, 2018 by rhallberg
By Sandra Avant, Agricultural Research Service
Rift Valley Fever (RVF), an infectious viral disease, poses a significant threat to livestock and human health in Africa and the Middle East. Although the disease has not reached the United States, a recent study by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Kansas State University (KSU) shows that U.S. white-tailed deer are highly susceptible to the RVF virus (RVFV).
The disease causes significant economic losses due to death and abortion among infected livestock. Cattle, sheep, goats and camels are particularly susceptible to the virus. It can also infect humans through contact with organs, blood or milk of infected animals or from the bites of infected mosquitoes and blood-feeding flies. Continue reading →
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Posted on September 14, 2018 by rhallberg
On October 12, 2018 from 12:00-1:00 PM Eastern Time, EPA will host an external peer review panel to review the potential use of physiologically based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PBPK/PD) models in the risk assessments for carbaryl, deltamethrin, and permethrin.
The public can listen to the panel’s meeting via webinar. To register, send an email to naimy.nina@epa.gov. Following the meeting, EPA will accept written comments on the models at www.regulations.gov in each of the chemicals’ registration review dockets for 30 days (carbaryl, EPA-HQ-OPP-2010-0230; deltamethrin, EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0637; permethrin, EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0039). The panel’s charge questions and white paper are also available in the dockets. Continue reading →
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Posted on September 14, 2018 by rhallberg
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is expanding its use of a notice-based process for approving fruits and vegetables for importation into the United States. This will help APHIS achieve USDA’s goal of reducing regulations by eliminating the need for rulemaking to approve fruits and vegetables for import. This action does not in any way compromise the rigor of APHIS’ analysis for potential plant pest risks, nor our safeguarding efforts. Instead, it will streamline procedures and help to reduce the time it takes to approve commodities for entry into the United States. This change will also allow us to focus regulatory resources, which would otherwise be consumed with the lengthy rulemaking process, on other critical priorities. Continue reading →
Filed under: news | Tagged: APHIS, imports, interstate movement, risk assessment | Leave a comment »
