Re-evaluation Note REV2019-01, Re-evaluation Project Plan for DEET and Related Active Toluamides

Pest Management Regulatory Agency
30 January 2019
ISSN: 1925-0649 (PDF version)
Catalogue number: H113-5/2019-1E-PDF (PDF version)

Background

In Canada, DEET plus related active toluamides (i.e. DEET) is under re-evaluation by Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). The PMRA re-evaluates registered pesticides to determine whether the use of these products continues to be acceptable in terms of value, human health and the environment according to current standards.

DEET plus related active toluamides technical active ingredient is a mixture of DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) and related active toluamides (ortho and para isomers), which is registered as a repellent for blood-sucking arthropods (mosquitoes, black flies, ticks, etc.). There are currently 240 registered products, 236 of which are domestic products, plus one commercial product, one manufacturing concentrate, and two technical grade active ingredients.

Under the authority of section 16 of the Pest Control Products Act, all registrants of DEET were notified of the initiation of the re-evaluation of DEET. Following this, the registrants of DEET technical grade active ingredients in Canada indicated support of all uses included on the labels of end-use products in Canada.

The re-evaluation project plan below outlines the timeline, the anticipated areas of focus for the risk assessments, and the data requirements for the re-evaluation of DEET.

Re-evaluation Project Plan

Anticipated Re-evaluation Timeline

The re-evaluation of DEET is defined as a Category 1 as described in DIR2016-04, Management of Pesticides Re-evaluation Policy. For this re-evaluation, 980 calendar days are required between re-evaluation initiation and publication of the proposed decision. Currently, a proposed re-evaluation decision for DEET is anticipated to be published for consultation by December 2020. The re-evaluation timeline may be updated if, during the risk assessment, the PMRA identifies additional areas of focus that should be considered.

Human Health Risk Assessment

New assessments will be conducted for toxicology. Existing assessments with minor updates are considered to be adequate to support the re-evaluation of DEET for the other aspects of human health assessment.

Environmental Risk Assessment

Existing assessments with minor updates are considered to be adequate to support the re-evaluation of DEET.

Value

The value of DEET will be considered. The viability of alternatives will be examined for certain uses if risks of concern requiring mitigation are identified.

Data Requirements

The PMRA has identified the need for the technical registrants to provide data for DEET related to toxicology. A summary of the data call-in is found in the PMRA's Public Registry. For a list of data categories that have been required, see Appendix I. In addition, information regarding the registered use pattern has been requested from the registrants to inform the risk assessments.

Additional Information

The PMRA documents can be found in the Pesticides section of Canada.ca. The PMRA documents are also available through the Pest Management Information Service:

Phone: 1-800-267-6315 within Canada, or
1-613-736-3799 outside Canada (long distance charges apply)
Fax: 1-613-736-3798
E-mail: pmra.info-arla@hc-sc.gc.ca

Appendix I Data Required Under Subsection 19(1) of the Pest Control Products Act for the Re-evaluation of DEET plus Related Active Toluamides

Toxicology Data

DACO	Reference
4.2.1	Acute Oral
4.2.2	Acute Dermal
4.2.3	Acute Inhalation
4.2.4	Primary Eye Irritation
4.2.5	Primary Dermal Irritation
4.2.6	Dermal Sensitization
4.3.3	Short-term Oral (28-day)
4.5.5	Genotoxicity: In vitro Mammalian Cell Assay
4.5.9	Metabolism/Toxicokinetics in Mammals (laboratory animals)