HEALTH WATCH : Money’s Loud Voice

Phosdrin is a powerful insecticide that has been used for decades on lettuce, grapes and other crops. So powerful that federal regulators banned its use nationwide, beginning Feb. 28, because of the health risk it poses to farm workers.

Telone II is a chemical applied to the soil to kill microscopic worms before root crops such as carrots and potatoes are planted. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies its main ingredient as “a probable human carcinogen.” Four years ago, California state officials barred the use of Telone II after high levels were detected in the air at Central Valley schools and public buildings.

It is rare for government agencies to restrict the use of an agricultural chemical. That regulators did so in the cases of Phosdrin and Telone II speaks to the hazard these chemicals are thought to carry. Yet economics apparently speak louder. After new testing by the maker of Telone II, the state last month approved resumption of its use, with new restrictions. Among other things, the new rules mandate a buffer zone between land occupied by humans and treated fields.

Earlier this month, federal officials quietly agreed to permit Phosdrin spraying through November. Why the extension? Apparently because 200,000 pounds of the chemical are stockpiled. Use through this growing season “will leave less hazardous material in the hands of users,” says an EPA official.

The EPA needs to do a better job of explaining why using up thousands of pounds of what it calls “hazardous material” is preferable to destroying it.