Farm chemical dealers in North Dakota who repackage bulk products face stricter safety requirements as part of a nationwide effort to regulate a rapidly growing industry.

"Back in the early 1990s, we had very few (dealers) repackaging," said Jerry Thompson, pesticide coordinator with the North Dakota Agriculture Department. "Now we have approximately 255 dealers in North Dakota. It's become a large industry."

Most pesticide dealers buy chemicals already packaged in such containers as plastic bottles or drums that they then resell. Pesticide repackagers are those who buy bulk quantities of chemicals and transfer them to smaller containers that farmers can use and return to the dealer.

The move toward repackaging has been happening over about the past 10 years, said Andrew Thostenson, a pesticide program specialist with the North Dakota State University Extension Service.

"Part of it has to do with economies of scale," he said. "The other part is just the stewardship of the containers. We used to generate just a huge number of 2½-gallon jugs and plastic drums that basically were just one-use containers, and they either had to be recycled or go into the landfill."

All states are being required to either follow federal regulations for chemical repackagers or develop their own rules that meet or exceed those regulations. Jessica Pantages, a spokeswoman for CropLife America, a pesticide trade association based in Washington, D.C., said the changes are not major.

"Right now, we're not seeing a whole lot of impact on our industry," she said.

In North Dakota, Thompson said, pesticide repackagers already are required to have a containment system around chemical tanks to catch any leaks.