The pesticide uses of silver and its compounds fall under the jurisdiction of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) under the US Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. In addition, many other national and international organizations maintain close observance of the effects of silver in different environments. The US EPA has also issued a specific announcement that the agency requires that all new chemistries for wood preservation be tested by exposure of such chemicals to aquatic and avian life forms. For preserved wood installations to be placed in aquatic environments such testing is likely to be quite extensive. Companies interested in registering new wood preservative products containing silver can make use of the existing considerable body of literature on the effects of silver in different environments and on different living organisms. Much of this work was done in research sponsored by members of the Photo Marketing Association International (Jackson, MI) and subsequently published in various journals by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). An additional compendium of research data has also been published by the United Nations through its own environment program. In addition to the academic and other research resources listed in these publications, the Silver Institute (Washington, DC), the Silver Research Consortium (Research Triangle Park, NC) and individual companies manufacturing and marketing silver-based biocide formulations can provide useful assistance. The Silver Research Consortium during 2007 is sponsoring a research program on the environmental effects of silver in marine environments

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