ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Farmers Get Extra Year to Use Fumigant: Growers can continue applying methyl bromide until Jan. 1, 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency said. The fumigant is to be eliminated under the Clean Air Act, which bans it and other substances that deplete the stratosphere’s ozone layer, which blocks harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Methyl bromide is widely used to protect produce from insects. Environmental groups criticized the decision, saying that methyl bromide should be eliminated as quickly as possible.
