EPA Announces Next Steps to Protect People from Sulfuryl Fluoride used to Fumigate Residential Structures
Released on July 30, 2024
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that it has approved additional safety measures to prevent deaths and serious injuries when people re-enter homes fumigated with sulfuryl fluoride. EPA has approved new product labels containing additional protective measures. This is a result of the June 2023 final early mitigation decision for sulfuryl fluoride, which instructed companies to submit amended product labels that contained additional protective measures within 12 months.
Sulfuryl fluoride is the only fumigant registered for use in residential structures, and it is used to control pests such as termites, powder post beetles, old house borers, bedbugs, carpet beetles, moths, cockroaches, rats, and mice. Some of these pests, such as cockroaches and rats, pose significant public health risks. Sulfuryl fluoride is a restricted use pesticide, meaning it can only be used by a certified applicator or someone under the certified applicator’s direct supervision. To use sulfuryl fluoride, a residential structure is covered with a tent to contain the gas, then it is filled with sulfuryl fluoride gas to kill the pests. Once the fumigation is complete, the structure is aired out, and the inside air is tested using a “clearance device” to ensure that the amount of sulfuryl fluoride is at or below the “clearance level” that EPA has determined as a safe for humans to re-enter.
An EPA Office of the Inspector General’s report was conducted in response to at least 11 deaths and two serious injuries during residential fumigation in California and Florida that had occurred since 2002. According to the report, the deaths and serious injuries occurred after homes had been “cleared” for re-entry. The report identified the need to restrict access to fumigated sites, increase and standardize product fumigation training requirements, and assess the reliability of clearance devices listed on product labels. Based on EPA testing results indicating that some of the clearance devices listed on previous sulfuryl fluoride labels do not accurately measure the clearance level, the agency determined that several mitigation measures were necessary to protect people returning to their homes after a fumigation with sulfuryl fluoride. The following protective measures were required as a result of the June 2023 early mitigation decision:
- Clearly posted no-entry warning signs to prevent admittance to fumigation tents throughout the fumigation process;
- Site-specific fumigation logs for residential fumigations;
- Additional registrant sponsored application stewardship training;
- Remove references to “approved” clearance devices from product labels and refer users to the EPA website, which will list the portable clearance devices determined to be effective, according to the EPA’s performance criteria; and
- Longer active and passive aeration times for residential structural fumigations.
For all sulfuryl fluoride products registered for residential use, amended labels were submitted with the revised label language, which the agency approved on July 11, 2024. The revised product labels now contain the protective measures listed above. This means that users of these products must follow the protective measures on the revised labels, ensuring the protection of all people involved. Existing stocks of sulfuryl fluoride products bearing previously approved labels can be sold or distributed for 12 months from that date.
While these mitigation measures focus only on residential structural fumigations, sulfuryl fluoride and all of its registered uses are still undergoing registration review, a process that re-evaluates all pesticides on a 15-year cycle. The remaining registration review risk assessments for sulfuryl fluoride are anticipated to be completed and issued for public comment in 2024.
Further information on sulfuryl fluoride can be found on EPA’s website.