EPA Water Protection Plan Will Seek Aldicarb Curbs in 10 States

In its first proposal aimed at protecting ground water from pesticides, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it will require at least 10 states to adopt additional controls on toxic aldicarb or lose use of that chemical.

Aldicarb, manufactured by Rhone-Poulenc Ag Co. and sold under the trade name Temik, has been found in the ground water in 16 states, with concentrations in 11 of those states above what the EPA considers safe. The proposal, which was published for public comment, contained an alternative that could require as many as 24 states to act.

The 24 states were not identified, but the agency said the 10 from which it plans to require “pesticide management plans” are Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Dakota, Georgia and Alabama, where aldicarb has not been found, and Maine, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Florida, where it has been found in concentrations above the EPA’s “health advisory” of 10 parts per billion.

Decisions Left to States

The states were selected because of their ground water characteristics and use of aldicarb on crops. The proposal comes as a result of the EPA’s draft ground-water strategy, which would leave most key decisions to the states.

Aldicarb also has been found in California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Virgina in concentrations above 10 parts per billion and in Arizona, Arkansas, Oregon, Texas and Washington below that level. Overall, one-third of some 35,000 ground-water samples tested by the EPA contained some aldicarb.

The EPA draft would forbid use of aldicarb within 300 feet of a well, and would add label warnings. The agency said it expects to adopt aldicarb requirements in about a year and state plans under it should take effect two years from then.

As much as 5.7 million pounds of aldicarb are used each year to protect potatoes, citrus, peanuts and other crops against insects, root worms and mites. The EPA said banning aldicarb could cost farmers $135 million.

Plan Called Insufficient

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which frequently argues for tighter pesticide controls, attacked the agency’s plan as “insufficient to prevent contamination of future drinking water.”

More than 1,000 people were reported poisoned in 1985 in seven Western states and Canada from California watermelons contaminated with aldicarb. Two babies were stillborn.

Aldicarb is not authorized for watermelon crops and was used illegally by some Kern County farmers, state officials said.

The pesticide breaks down in soil in a few weeks, but in ground water it can last for decades. It works by inhibiting nerve transmission and can cause digestive upset.