September 4, 1998
Florida Methyl Bromide Use Threatens Communities
Florida communities, farmworkers and schools face serious health
risks from exposure to the pesticide methyl bromide, according to a
new report by Friends of the Earth. "Reaping Havoc -- The True Cost
of Using Methyl Bromide on Florida's Tomatoes" details the health
risks of methyl bromide as well as its harmful impact on the Earth's
ozone layer and calls on Congress to reject proposals to delay the
scheduled ban now set for 2001. The report was written in
association with the Florida Consumer Action Network, Farmworker
Association of Florida, Farmworkers Self-Help and the Legal
Environmental Assistance Foundation. Together these groups have
formed the Sustainable Tomatoes Campaign.
Methyl bromide is a highly toxic pesticide used to kill unwanted
organisms in soil, agricultural commodities and in homes and
buildings. Scientists estimate that the chemical is responsible for
approximately 5% to 10% of worldwide ozone depletion. Direct
exposure to the chemical can cause eye and skin irritation; damage
to the central nervous system, kidneys and lungs; and even death. It
may also cause birth defects and cancer.
The Sustainable Tomatoes Campaign is working in Florida to focus
public attention on health and environmental problems caused by
methyl bromide. Through public and consumer education, the Campaign
is pressing for phaseout of methyl bromide by 2001 and adoption of
agricultural practices that are safer for workers, communities and
the environment.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 13.3
million pounds of methyl bromide were used on Florida croplands
between 1995 and 1996. Approximately 62% of the methyl bromide used
for pre-plant fumigation in Florida was used on tomatoes. An
estimated 94% of the 40,000 acres of Florida farmland planted with
tomatoes was treated with methyl bromide. Tomatoes play an important
role in FloridaUs economy -- the crop is responsible for almost 50%
of FloridaUs income from vegetables. On a national scale, the state
produces about 50% of the fresh tomatoes available in U.S. markets.
The report states that many farmworkers have suffered from
overexposure to methyl bromide due to chronically inadequate
enforcement of worker protection statutes in Florida. A recent study
by the Farmworker Justice Fund and the Migrant Farmworker Justice
Project found that the federal Worker Protection Standard, designed
to help reduce farmworkersU risks from exposure to pesticides
including methyl bromide, has not been strictly enforced in the
state.
In addition, the report examines land use patterns in several
communities in three counties where methyl bromide use is heavy
(Gadsden, Hillsborough and Dade Counties) and finds fumigated fields
dangerously close to homes, schools and churches. For example, the
playground at Cypress Elementary school in Hillsborough County is
very near a 500-acre farm that grows tomatoes. Although the farmer
is required to post times and amounts of pesticides applied to the
field, posted records have not been kept up to date. As a result, no
one knows what type of exposure the 750 children attending the
school are receiving.
Recognizing the severe threat that methyl bromide poses to human
health and the environment, more than 160 nations have signed an
international treaty requiring developed nations to phase out all
use of methyl bromide by 2005. The U.S. Clean Air Act commits the
U.S. -- the largest user of methyl bromide in the world -- to phase
out use of the chemical by 2001. Yet powerful agribusiness interests
are lobbying Florida state government and Congress to postpone the
scheduled phaseout. "Reaping Havoc" calls for the U.S. to remain
strongly committed to the 2001 methyl bromide phaseout deadline
required by the Clean Air Act.
The Sustainable Tomatoes Campaign, a diverse coalition of Haitian,
Hispanic, African-American farmworkers, consumers and policy
advocates, calls for the EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
to develop a coordinated action plan to promote the rapid,
widespread adoption of safe alternatives within the phaseout
timetable.
Copies of the report are available from Friends of the Earth and on
their web page (see below).
Source: "Reaping Havoc: The True Cost of Using Methyl Bromide on
Florida's Tomatoes," August 1998.
Contact: Friends of the Earth, 1025 Vermont Avenue NW, Suite 300,
Washington DC 20005; phone (202) 783-7400; fax (202) 783-0444; email
foe@foe.org; web www.foe.org.
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