EPA to Burn Stocks of Banned Pesticide
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that its contractors will begin burning leftover stocks of the banned pesticide EDB (ethylene dibromide) in Texas next month.
Officials said the agency paid $2.8 million to buy 328,000 gallons of EDB after banning the pesticide in 1984. The pesticide, used to kill worms in soil, as a fumigant for grain and fruit and as an additive for leaded gasoline, is believed to cause cancer and birth defects.
The EPA has stored much of the pesticide at a chemical plant in Liberty, Mo., and will continue to receive certain forms of the chemical for shipment to Deer Park, Tex., near Houston.
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