Discredited Chemical Fading From Farm Scene
It started out as a wonder chemical, ended up as an albatross and will soon fade completely from the barns and orchards of America. Before this month is over, daminozide--trade-name Alar--will be banned from use on all foods.
Four months after the Alar controversy erupted, Uniroyal Chemical Co. announced that it would no longer sell its controversial growth regulator in this country. But while Alar could no longer be purchased, it was still legal to use the chemical because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency did not revoke its registration for use on foods.
On Oct. 11, Uniroyal took its first step to change that. In a letter to the EPA, the company requested that Alar’s registration be revoked, said John Lacadie, Uniroyal’s director of research and development
“Questions about food safety which were unfounded have dominated the Alar situation, and the scientific resolution was not forthcoming,” Lacadie said. “Even if we were successful with the EPA, we would not be successful at returning the product to the market.”
Walter Waldrop, section head of the EPA’s special review and registration division, said Alar’s registration for use on foods should be revoked within the next two weeks.
In addition, by the end of November the amount of Alar residue allowed on foods will be dropped from 20 parts per million to 5 parts per million. Plans are in the works to reduce the legal residue level to one part per million by the end of November, 1990, and to zero by the end of May, 1991.
For now, organizations from the EPA to the International Apple Institute contend that this year’s crop is Alar-free.
“From all calculations and all the publicity, we don’t think anyone’s used it,” said Maureen Miklavic, spokeswoman for the apple institute. “With all the monitoring, it’s not feasible. . . . And measures have been taken to make sure that growers avoid using it.”
