"The widely used weedkiller dicamba poses a previously unknown risk to honeybees, EPA said in a draft assessment of the pesticide’s potential dangers to wildlife.

In the draft ecological risk assessment released today, EPA said recent toxicity data indicates a “potential chronic risk concern” for adult honeybees exposed to higher levels of dicamba than previously reviewed. There’s also additional risk to fish in limited circumstances, the agency said.

The draft assessment, open to public comment for 60 days, is part of the ongoing routine registration review for dicamba, a popular herbicide farmers use on soybeans and other crops genetically modified to tolerate it. EPA released the draft along with an updated human health risk assessment that echoed earlier findings.

On the other hand, EPA said, new information eased previous concerns about risks to birds from dicamba spread on genetically modified soybeans, and no risks were identified for aquatic nonvertebrates."

Marc Heller reports for E&E News August 18, 2022. [2]