The EPA no longer requires registration of dyes for ponds. The contents, Acid blue 9 and Acid Yellow 23, that are listed in Admiral and Aquashade are exactly the same contents in many if not all dyes for lakes and ponds. The clever marketing technique is representing that the dyes need to be registered with the EPA to be used in ponds. That is what you are paying for, something that is no longer required. I do agree that there are many strengths of dye available on the market today and with a little simple testing one can determine the relative strength of the product you are buying.
Sorry, but I find your comments misleading - if not also inaccurate.
Under
FIFRA (1972),
ANY product that claims pesticide activity (by EPA's definition below),
including lake-dyes,
must obtain an EPA registration.
Pesticide claims are partially sanctioned by the definitive disclosure of the product's contents and efficacy-data; both of which are required for said registration. Other critical factors, such as environmental and toxicological assessments, are also evaluated during the EPA registration purposes.
If not for the requirements set forth in FIFRA,
ANYONE could make a bathtub mix of
ANYTHING and say it'll kill/control/inhibit
SOMETHING, presumably in a
SAFE manner, and never need to
prove anything. Granted, if the product doesn't work, Joe-consumer probably won't buy it a second time. But, a few million gullible Joe-consumers could produce a sizable volume of single-purchase sales - not to mention a potentially huge impact on the environment.
True, there are many unregistered lake-dyes on the market - some good, some decent, some ???. But, to say that the EPA "no longer requires registration of lake dyes for ponds" is misleading at best, and is absolutely false
IF the lake-dye makes
any claim of impeding weed & algae growth.
Also, I would like to know what "simple testing" may be used to determine the pure-dye-content (PDC) of ANY lake-dye; registered or otherwise. Surely you're not suggesting that such tests be conducted visually - with the limited capabilities of the human's eye - ??
All dyes will appear extremely dark in their concentrated formulations. But, by no means does that appearance indicate their PDC - nor the ratio of individual pigments (with Yellow 23 being a relatively expensive component of the registered lake-dyes; and as a consequence, is usually low in content or completely absent from MOST non-registered lake-dyes).
When placed in a pond, all lake-dyes will generally turn the water blue - to some extent or another. But, unless you have two ponds (or sample vessels of water), to which equal amounts of two different dyes are added, then observed, compared and evaluated OVER TIME and under identical environmental influences, there is little means (to my knowledge) for Joe-consumer to verify that he received what he thinks he purchased. So please, let me know some details about the simple testing process - which presumably doesn't require lab equipment (i.e. a spectrophotometer, centrifuge, etc).
IMO, the "clever marketing technique" is often played by manufacturers of non-registered lake-dyes; who almost always mimic or benchmark against the 1-qt/acre-foot dosage that is recommended on the registered lake-dye labels - implying that they all contain the same amount of PDC (which the consumer simply can't verify).
I'll stop there, and await your response.....
Oh, one more thing: After April 11, 2011 - under the new NPDES guidelines, I believe dyes MUST be registered for (legal) use in lakes & ponds - period. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
EPA's DEFINITION OF A PESTICIDE"A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances intended for: preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest."
WHAT IS PESTICIDE REGISTRATION The process of registering a pesticide is a scientific, legal, and administrative procedure through which EPA examines the ingredients of the pesticide; the particular site or crop on which it is to be used; the amount, frequency, and timing of its use; and storage and disposal practices. In evaluating a pesticide registration application, EPA assesses a wide variety of potential human health and environmental effects associated with use of the product. The producer of the pesticide must provide data from tests done according to EPA guidelines.
