Agency Admits Underestimating Exposure to Cancer-Causing Chemical : EPA Raises Estimate of Alar Use to 15% of Apple Crop

In a sharp revision of earlier estimates, the Environmental Protection Agency reported Saturday that as much as 15% of the nation’s apple crop may have been treated last year with Alar, the cancer-causing chemical whose use has prompted national concern.

The agency conceded that its earlier contention that just 4% of apples were exposed to Alar had vastly underestimated the chemical’s use. It said its new estimate was based on “additional information” gathered during a two-month investigation prompted by the public uproar over Alar.

Unreasonable Health Risk

In disclosing the new figure, the EPA also said it would move ahead with previously announced plans to remove Alar from the market, saying that exposure to the chemical over a lifetime may pose an unreasonable health risk. Such a ban will take at least 18 months to become final.

Rejects Suspension

In announcing the action, EPA officials again rejected steps that could suspend use of Alar immediately, saying that the agency has uncovered no evidence to justify emergency action.

“Based on our current estimates, the short-term risks of eating food treated with daminozide (Alar’s chemical name) are not significant and do not pose an imminent or major public-health threat,” deputy administrator Jack Moore said.

While data about the carcinogenic effects of daminozide are “a cause of concern,” the agency said, “the level of risk during the time necessary to complete a cancellation are not unreasonably high.”

The EPA also said it expected public exposure to Alar to decrease as a result of declining use of the chemical, which would further reduce the health risks.

Will Not Hesitate

But in acknowledging that its previous assessments of Alar use had been mistaken, the agency said it would not hesitate to act “if additional data indicate that more immediate action should be taken.”

While the new EPA estimate of Alar use is much higher than its earlier figure, 15% is still less than estimates by some environmental groups and consumer groups.

A government official said the agency’s decision to publicize its new findings this weekend was prompted in part by the impending broadcast of a CBS News report that 32% of last year’s apple crop contained traces of Alar.

The EPA said in February that it would begin regulatory action aimed at Alar, and has urged that the chemical be taken off the market voluntarily because it has been found to cause cancer in laboratory animals.

Disputes Health Claims

The manufacturer of Alar, Uniroyal Chemical Co., has disputed the health claims and continued to sell the chemical, which keeps apples on trees longer and adds to the fruit’s shelf life. The substance is used almost exclusively on red apples, particularly the Delicious, Staymen and McIntosh varieties. It cannot be removed by washing or peeling.

Public concern about Alar erupted this spring after the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, published a report contending that Alar-treated apples posed an “unacceptable risk” to children, who eat a large volume of apples and apple products.

In the wake of the report, apple sales plummeted and a number of school districts removed apples from school lunch menus.

Although the concern abated somewhat after government agencies assured consumers that it was safe to eat apples, an organization representing producers of apple juice and apple sauce reported this week that sales of the products lagged at least 20% behind last year’s levels.