Pest Management Professional, March 2014

news views Industry loses a legend LEAKEY Texas Pest Management Professional Hall of Famer Vern Walter passed away Jan 25 He was 86 The San Antonio native was the son of biologists who relocated to West Lafayette Ind the home of Purdue University when he was 9 Walter years old His father became friends with fellow Hall of Famer J J Davis and young Walter grew up around entomology even cleaning rodent cages at the campus labs After graduating from Purdue in 1950 he became a cereal chemist until the plant he worked in closed a year after he was hired In Indianapolis he became a serviceman for Pest Control Services under fellow Hall of Famer and originator of the Trumans Guide to Structural Pest Management Operations Dr Lee Truman Walter worked his way up to becoming service manager of the company Walter returned to his Texas roots purchasing a Terminix branch in the town of Harlington He served as chairman of the Structural Pest Control Board of Texas and received License No 1 After a brief detour as technical director of Terminix in Memphis Tenn Walter served as the Southern coordinator for the Industrial Fumigant Co In 1982 he became co owner of Abash Pest Control in McAllen Texas until Terminix bought it 10 years later Through it all Walter was considered a respected industry educator and expert witness He participated in numerous industry organizations including the National Pest Management Associations NPMAs government affairs committee He also served as a columnist for PMP then Pest Control magazine from 1981 to 1994 NPMA warns dont misuse fipronil FAIRFAX Va The following is an Industry Alert from the National Pest Management Association NPMA Recently there have been several numerous highly publicized incidents of improper use of fipronil indoors by pest management professionals PMPs The most recent occurred in New Jersey The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection announced that it has fined a pest management company in Neptune City 495000 and revoked the companys business and commercial pesticide applicator licenses The National and New Jersey Pest Management Associations reminds PMPs the use of fipronil indoors is prohibited except for label specified applications for termite control foam applications to wall voids for control of listed pests and labeled bait applications The misuse of this product could be extremely costly for PMPs and their companies and could lead to restrictions on its use or imperil its continued availability PMPs should always read and follow all label instructions Related to this BASF announced new initiatives in its product stewardship with a campaign designed to ensure PMPs and those they serve understand the importance of following the directions on product labels NPMA celebrates sulfuryl fluoride win FAIRFAX Va The following is a letter from Gene Harrington vice president of Government Affairs for the National Pest Management Association NPMA to association members On Feb 4 the U S Senate approved legislation retaining the food uses for the fumigant sulfuryl fluoride The measure is contained in the much larger 950 pageplus Farm Bill Conference Report which passed the House last month and is expected to be signed into law soon by President Obama The inclusion of the sulfuryl fluoride provision in the Farm Bill Conference Report represents a significant legislative victory for NPMA one that wouldnt have been possible without lobbying your federal lawmakers about the importance of retaining sulfuryl fluorides food uses The legislation effectively reverses a proposed order revoking or withdrawing sulfuryl fluorides food tolerances the U S Environmental Protection Agency EPA put forward in January 2011 under the threat of activist group litigation The activists claimed that sulfuryl fluorides tolerances werent permissible because the risk cup for sulfuryl fluoride was already filled with fluoride in drinking water and dental care products Congratulations on a big legislative triumph Well let you know when the President signs the Farm Bill Conference Report into law Below is the sulfuryl fluoride language SEC 10015 REGULATION OF SULFURYL FLUORIDE Notwithstanding any other provision of law the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall exclude nonpesticideal sources of fluoride from any aggregate exposure assessment required under section 408 of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act 21 U S C 346a when assessing tolerances associated with residues from the pesticide Continued on page 14 12 March 2014 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net