P.M. BRIEFING : EPA Limits Use of a Pesticide Because It Kills Too Many Birds

In an unprecedented action to protect birds, the Environmental Protection Agency today banned the use of the pesticide diazinon on golf courses and sod farms, saying it too often caused bird kills.

After a two-year legal battle, EPA Administrator William Reilly issued an order barring continued use of diazinon, marking the first time the agency has revoked government approval of a pesticide solely due to its harmful effects on birds.

“Absent some countervailing benefit of continued use, as a matter of policy, unnecessary risk of regularly repeated bird kills will not be tolerated,” Reilly said in his order.

EPA officials say the order is based on reports of approximately 60 incidents of massive bird kills in 18 states in which diazinon was confirmed or implicated as the main cause.

Diazonin, primarily produced by Ciba-Geigy, is widely used to control a variety of insects at agricultural and ornamental nursery sites and around homes and gardens. Around 8 million pounds are used annually.