The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requesting public comment on a proposal to remove 72 chemicals from its list of substances approved for use as inert ingredients in pesticide products.

"We are taking action to ensure that these ingredients are not added to any pesticide products unless they have been fully vetted by EPA," said Jim Jones, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.

"This is the first major step in our strategy to reduce risks from pesticides containing potentially hazardous inert ingredients," Jones said.

EPA's planned action is in response to petitions by environmental and other public interest groups, which over the past several years have urged the agency to require disclosure of 371 inert ingredients found in pesticide products.

But rather than mandating the disclosure of potentially hazardous inert ingredients on pesticide labels, as most of the petitioners sought and most manufacturers opposed on competition grounds, the environmental watchdog said it has developed an alternative strategies to reduce risks from use of pesticides containing potentially hazardous inert ingredients.

In the view of the EPA assistant administrator, a series of "non-rule actions" setting clear priorities would be easier and quicker to achieve the goals than trying to push through than legislation. Removing the targeting 72 ingredients serves as one of the agency's top priorities, Jones said.

Many of the 72 inert ingredients targeted for removal - including turpentine oil and nitrous oxide - are on the list of 371 inert ingredients identified by the petitioners as hazardous. However, they are not currently being used as inert ingredients in any pesticide product.