Latino Parents Accuse State of Not Curbing Pesticide Use Near Schools

Parents at two Oxnard-area schools joined Wednesday in filing a complaint against the state Department of Pesticide Regulation for policies and practices that they allege discriminate against Latino schoolchildren.

The civil complaint, filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, accuses the state agency of failing to consider the high levels of pesticide use--especially the toxic fumigant methyl bromide--that occur near schools where students are mostly Latinos.

The complaint was filed on behalf of parents and children at six California schools, including Rio Plaza Elementary and Rio Mesa High School north of Oxnard.

The local schools, where the student populations are at least 75% Latino, ranked first and second last year in a statewide survey that measured the amount of methyl bromide applied near public and private schools.

That survey identified schools in Salinas, Santa Maria and Watsonville as being among those closest to strawberry fields where the potent cropland pesticide is injected into the soil.

According to the complaint, pesticide regulators are violating the civil rights of Latinos by permitting heavy use of the fumigant near schools. Anti-pesticide groups want the EPA to force the state to ban the fumigant or lose federal money. In lieu of that, the groups want pesticide regulators to expand buffer zones around schools to ensure student safety. Buffers are now generally 100 feet, and pesticides cannot be applied during the school day.

“The more methyl bromide used near a school, the higher the likelihood that the student body is Latino,” said Eileen McCarthy, an attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance. “The state’s failure to adequately regulate use of methyl bromide near predominantly Latino schools is environmental racism.”

The poverty law firm joined several groups across the state in filing the complaint, which was unveiled Wednesday at news conferences in Oxnard and Salinas.

Veda Federighi, a spokeswoman for the pesticide regulation department, said the agency takes every precaution to protect schoolchildren, Latino and non-Latino, from pesticide exposure.

California has the most stringent pesticide regulations in the nation, and county agricultural commissioners take extra precautions around sensitive sites such as schools, she said. Those precautions include expanded buffer zones.

“I think the bottom line is that our controls are based on science, and that science is colorblind,” Federighi said. “For this complaint to have merit, you’d have to accept the argument that children are being placed at risk. We don’t accept that argument. We are not placing any children at risk.”

The complaint represents the latest salvo in an ongoing battle by anti-pesticide advocates to ban or reduce the use of methyl bromide, an odorless fumigant that cleanses the soil of insects, mites, rodents and weeds before planting.

Championed by growers, the pesticide is especially popular in the strawberry industry. It also is used to fumigate dwellings, which has led to at least 19 deaths in recent years, the state reports.

Wednesday’s complaint seeks to restrict use of the fumigant, which is poisonous to humans and, even in small doses, can cause headaches, vomiting, dizziness and damage to the central nervous system.

The federal EPA will have 20 days to accept or reject the complaint for investigation and six months to complete the inquiry.