WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. EPA has released its latest risk assessment of chlorpyrifos, part of a years-long registration review of the popular insecticide. Don’t look for any major changes in how chlorpyrifos is regulated any time soon, however.

That’s according to Garry Hamlin, spokesman for Dow AgroSciences, the manufacturer of chlorpyrifos. Hamlin said it’s standard operating procedure for the EPA to increase the amount of regulation of pesticides it regulates – and chlorpyrifos is no different. "EPA is consistently trying to increase the margin of safety of the products it regulates," he said. "That’s just the world we live in. They’ll probably come out with another iteration of this document by the end of the year."

EPA released its latest risk assessment on Jan. 5. It’s 531 pages. Any member of the public can comment on the document, and comments on the assessment are due March 16.

According to an EPA news release, the assessment shows some risks to workers who mix, load and apply chlorpyrifos pesticide products. When used in large amounts, chlorpyrifos has the potential to pose risks in limited geographic areas to drinking water in small watersheds.

"Additional restrictions may be necessary to ensure that workers who use or work around areas treated with chlorpyrifos are protected and that drinking water sources are protected," the EPA statement says. "The agency will now begin work on measures to reduce these risks."

According to EPA, in 2000 it banned household uses of the chemical, except for ant and roach bait in child-resistant packaging. Between 2000-02 EPA banned its use on tomatoes and restricted its use on crops including apples, citrus and tree nuts.

In 2012, EPA imposed no-spray buffer zones around public spaces, including recreational areas and homes and significantly lowered pesticide application rates. "They’ve changed the way they run their numbers," Hamlin stated. "We’re struggling to understand the numbers EPA is working with."

Although on the one hand greater regulation is expected from EPA, he said it’s important to pay attention to what’s going on. It "took them 15 years the last time to review it. By the time they completed it the last time it was time to start doing it all over again.

"It’s a little too soon to make projections about what changes there will be. We’ll be making comments on the documents, as will other members of the public. We’re working on it now," he said.

This assessment updates a June 2011 EPA preliminary human health risk assessment. The agency is also assessing the ecological risks from chlorpyrifos in conjunction with its Endangered Species Protection Program. Results are expected later in the year.

Hamlin said growers are concerned about having a limited number of choices for pest control. This is especially the case for smaller crops, such as fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, where chlorpyrifos is widely used. Chlorpyrifos is used on many crops, including corn, soybeans, almonds, apples, oranges, walnuts, pecans, wheat, cotton, peanuts, grapes and dozens of other commodities.

"In many cases, the smaller the crop, the less available the replacement technology and so the greater the grower need for continued access to the products they currently have to use, and the greater the problems they face with loss of uses specific to their operation," Hamlin added.

To learn more about chlorpyrifos and EPA’s regulations, go to www.regulations.gov and search with EPA docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0850.