Activists Say New Pesticide Proposal Keeps Public at Risk

A state proposal to regulate the use of the toxic pest killer methyl bromide drew sharp reaction Tuesday from critics who said the regulations do little new to protect the public.

The proposed regulations, released Tuesday by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, were largely born of a lawsuit brought by environmentalists who accused state officials of endangering public health by failing to sufficiently control the use of methyl bromide on farms.

“We’re very disappointed that the governor has chosen a path that will protect methyl bromide use and not the people that it’s poisoning,” said Gregg Small, executive director of the nonprofit group Pesticide Watch.

State officials contend that the proposed regulations expand what are already the nation’s most comprehensive methyl bromide controls by establishing new requirements such as minimum buffer zones around application sites (100 feet in most cases) and work plans from growers as a condition for winning approval to use the chemical.

The proposed rules also call for neighbors to be notified of a farmer’s request to use methyl bromide and for neighbors to receive copies of fumigation schedules if they wish. The rules would also enhance protections for schoolchildren by banning applications while classes are in session, state officials said.

“We feel that the regulatory program we’re releasing today provides good protection for people [against] short-term exposures,” said Paul Helliker, director of the Department of Pesticide Regulation.

California leads the nation in methyl bromide use. Growers use the odorless gas before planting to rid soil of insects, rodents and weeds. Crews inject the gas about a foot deep in the soil and cover fields with tarps to keep it from escaping.

Dave Riggs, president of the California Strawberry Commission, said his office has been working with growers and school and county officials to address a number of issues raised by the proposed restrictions, such as ensuring that whenever possible, fumigations are not carried out during school hours.

Critics say the state’s proposal does little more than mandate the informal guidelines now in use. Drafted by the Department of Pesticide Regulation, the guidelines have been enforced by county agriculture officials, who issue permits to growers who use methyl bromide.

While acknowledging that the proposed regulations do more to protect schoolchildren from methyl bromide, Bill Walker, California director of the Environmental Working Group, said they do little to expand buffer zones for workers or residents.

“It is our belief that for the majority of applications in California, the residential buffer zone is going to remain the same,” Walker said.

Under the terms of an international treaty the United States must phase out methyl bromide use by 2005.

Most popular among strawberry growers, methyl bromide is also used to fumigate almonds, vegetables and grape crops prior to export. It is extremely toxic to humans, with nearly 500 poisonings linked to the pesticide since 1982.

The Department Pesticide Regulation, under court order to adopt more specific regulations by June, has scheduled public hearings on the proposed rules in Salinas, Ontario and Fresno in early March.

Walker said he and his colleagues in the environmental community plan to attend the hearings and have appealed to sympathetic legislators to write letters urging the department to adopt stronger regulations. The environmentalists want further reduction of children’s exposure to the chemical and bigger buffer zones--perhaps half a mile or more--between residences and fumigation sites.

In the meantime, both sides of the debate await results of a risk assessment on long-term exposure to methyl bromide that is undergoing a review by the National Academy of Sciences. The review is scheduled for completion in April.