2006 PNN Annual Report

 

Background

The mandates for both Washington State University’s (WSU) Food and Environmental Quality Laboratory and the Washington State Commission on Pesticide Registration (WSCPR) address operating a program for tracking the availability of effective pesticides for use on Washington’s minor crops. (RCW 15.92.060 & 15.92.100)  This tracking program is the Pesticide Notification Network (PNN), which has, since 1997, been funded by the WSCPR and operated by WSU.

 

The purpose of the PNN is to inform Washington State pesticide users of registration and label changes for products of interest to agriculture. Information is distributed to commodity commissions, grower groups, WSU Extension personnel, and individual growers involved in Washington State’s diverse agriculture. Currently information is distributed to 245 PNN contacts.

 

One goal of the PNN is to get the right information to the right people. This is done by sending each PNN notification to a targeted distribution list. When people sign up for PNN service, they customize their "subscription" both by crop and by pesticide type. In this manner, an entomologist conducting research on tree fruit will receive only information about insecticides registered for use on tree fruits while the Washington Hop Commission receives notifications relating to all pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides) that may be used on hops. The PNN is a free service and anyone who is interested in subscribing to the PNN may do so.

In addition to actively distributing information via e-mail notifications, the PNN also provides information on its Web site found at URL: http://ext.wsu.edu/pnn.

 

PNN Activity

In CY 2006, the PNN distributed 349 notifications via 30,387 e-mail messages (transmittals). "Notification" refers to a unique piece of information that is then distributed to each interested subscriber. Because of the targeted nature of the PNN, the distribution list for each notification varies. In CY 2006 single notifications were sent to as few as 14 subscribers or as many as 248. The table below summarizes the activity of the PNN from its inception in 1997 through 2006. In 2006 the number of PNN subscribers rose from 234 to 245 and the number of PNN e-mail messages sent rose by almost 4,900.  Also in 2006 the PNN web page was visited by an average of 5300 visitors per month, up from 1360 in 2005.  Over the space of the year the PNN web page hosted more than 63,000 visitors.

 

PNN Activity

Year

# Notifications

# Transmittals

# Trans/Notification

1997

424

8753

21

1998

279

4446

16

1999

355

8537

24

2000

344

11335

33

2001

355

12328

35

2002

338

15476

46

2003

283

12405

44

2004

325

16621

51

2005

355

25569

72

2006

349

30387

87

 

 

Additional PNN-Related Activities

As a service to growers in both states, the PNN web page has always included information on Oregon SLNs.  This year, at the request of ODA, the PNN web page was revamped to also include a link to Oregon Section 18s.  The way Oregon SLN information is posted on the web page was also revised in 2006.  Now rather than having each year’s SLNs posted on separate tables, all Oregon SLNs are posted on a single table and the table is then available on the web page sorted by SLN Number, EPA Registration Number, Registrant Name, Product Name, Ingredient, Crop, or Pesticide Type.

 

As in the past, the PNN distributed several "special topic" notifications in 2006. These types of notifications cover issues outside the registration, labeling, and federal regulatory information normally provided on the PNN. Some of the special topic PNN notifications distributed in 2006 covered:

·        Changes to EPA’s Section 18 process

·        EPA’s new web page for labeling questions

·        Mitac W cancellation order

·        Changes and phase outs for azinphos methyl and phosmet

·        Regulations for EPA’s pesticide reregistration review process

·        A petition to modify EPA’s minimum risk pesticide regulations

·         EPA’s rule on aquatic pesticide applications

·        Revision of WSDA’s Section 18 and 24c guidance documents

 

In CY06 the PNN also distributed 34 notifications covering various aspects of EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decisions or REDs.  PNN notifications were sent out in 2006 related to REDs for the following active ingredients: aliphatic solvents, arsenical herbicides, carbofuran, chlorine dioxide, copper, cypermethrin, DCNA, dicamba, dimethoate, ethoprop, formetanate hydrochloride, imazapyr, lindane, malathion, mancozeb, maneb, MCPB, metaldehyde, metiram, MGK-264, naptalam sodium, PCNB, permethrin, piperonyl butoxide, propiconazole, pyrethrins, resmethrin, simazine, sodium chlorate, sodium chlorite, triadimefon, triadimenol, and xylene.

 

In 2006, a short article about the PNN was published in the WSU Vegetable Pathology Team Newsletter.  The article, “Pesticide Notification Network: Pesticide Information Delivered to Your Door,” appeared online in August at http://mtvernon.wsu.edu/path_team/currentnewlet.htm.