‘Handle With Care’ Is Working

A report on the pesticide methyl bromide released last week reminded us of some things we already knew.

One is that this toxic cropland fumigant has the potential to create health problems when used too close to schools or homes. Another is that this controversial issue is not as simple as either side’s comments would suggest.

In its report, the Environmental Working Group chastised state regulators for allowing farmers to apply methyl bromide near classrooms and schoolyards--and called for a wide buffer zone around educational facilities and residential neighborhoods.

It noted that students at two El Rio schools are potentially more exposed to dangerous levels of methyl bromide than any others in the state. Rio Plaza Elementary and Rio Mesa High School ranked first and second in a survey that measured the amount of the chemical used each year within 1 1/2 miles of a school. Six other Oxnard-area schools rank among the top 25.

Environmentalists have called for larger buffer zones around fields fumigated with the chemical, which is scheduled to be banned nationwide in 2001 because it helps deplete the Earth’s ozone layer.

Farmers say they need methyl bromide in order to replant strawberries on the same fields year after year, and wider buffer zones narrow their profit margin.

The debate has flared in the past two Augusts, the month when methyl bromide is typically applied. In 1996, operators of a child-care center complained of headaches, stomachaches and dizziness. In 1997, wider buffers and closer monitoring prevented illnesses but one farmer scrapped plans to plant.

All that attention has increased awareness. To their credit, Ventura County farmers have worked with school officials to reduce risks. The El Rio schools put up windsocks to show when there might be vapor drift; farmers agreed to fumigate after school or on weekends.

In addition, the statewide minimum buffer was expanded last year from 30 feet to 100 feet.

On Tuesday the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee will hold a hearing on a bill by Assemblywoman Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont) that would prohibit use of methyl bromide within 1,000 feet of schools and homes, require warnings to neighbors before applications and recommit the state to the federal ban in 2001.

We repeat our support for the 2001 ban and for efforts to find safer alternatives to methyl bromide. We support closer monitoring where fumigated fields abut schools or homes. But we believe a statewide 1,000-foot buffer zone is larger than necessary, given the overall success of existing limits. Such decisions should be made with care, but made locally.

And we note that this issue is one of several powerful arguments for keeping urban uses such as schools and residential development away from farmland wherever possible.