The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) is a collaboration between

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

and the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

to provide objective, science-based information about

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...

s, the recognition and management of pesticide

poisoning A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not to ...

toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...

and environmental chemistry. It is funded through a cooperative agreement that is competitively awarded to an eligible applicant every 3–5 years. It was previously known as the National Pesticide Telecommunication Network.

History

The program was first established in 1978 as a toll free telephone service at the

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) is a public medical school based in Lubbock, Texas, with additional campuses in Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, El Paso and the Permian Basin. TTUHSC serves more than 100 counties in the ...

to assist medical professionals with the recognition and management of

pesticide poisoning A pesticide poisoning occurs when pesticides, chemicals intended to control a pest, affect non-target organisms such as humans, wildlife, plant, or bees. There are three types of pesticide poisoning. The first of the three is a single and short- ...

s. The service was later expanded to the general public. In the mid 1980s the NPIC moved to Texas Tech University and became the National Pesticide Telecommunications Network. In 1995 the program was moved to Oregon State University (OSU) and the name was later changed to the National Pesticide Information Center in 2001.

Recent Highlights

* In 2012 NPIC developed an Insect Repellent Locator Mobile App. * In 2013 NPIC developed several web Apps including: Mobile Access to Pesticides and Labels (MAPL), Pesticide Education & Search Tool (PEST), and Pesticide and Local Services (PALS).

Incident Reporting

The National Pesticide Information Center does not have regulatory authority in relation to pesticides. Pesticide regulatory agencies in many states are delegated primary enforcement responsibilities for pesticide violations by the

. However, in addition to being reported to state regulators, pesticide incidents involving people, pets, wildlife (including bees), or the environment can be reported to the NPIC. Incident reports collected by the NPIC, which exclude

personally identifiable information Personal data, also known as personal information or personally identifiable information (PII), is any information related to an identifiable person. The abbreviation PII is widely accepted in the United States, but the phrase it abbreviates ha ...

, are provided to the U.S. EPA through scheduled reporting and by request from U.S. EPA and partner agencies. A veterinary incident reporting portal is also available to professional veterinary staff seeking to report a pesticide incident involving an animal.

References

External links

Official WebsiteFogging MachinesEPA Fact SheetsNPIC Reports
{{Pesticide regulation in the United States Organizations based in Oregon Pesticide organizations