California Ordered To Adopt Methyl Bromide Regulations
March 22, 1999
A superior court judge has ordered the State of California to
adopt regulations to protect the public from exposure to the
fumigant methyl bromide. Judge David A. Garcia ruled in favor of
four environmental groups -- Pesticide Action Network,
Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth and
Pesticide Watch -- who filed suit last June against the California
Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR).
The decision marks a turning point in California
environmentalists' long battle against methyl bromide, a highly
volatile and acutely toxic pesticide gas that routinely drifts from
farm fields into adjacent neighborhoods. The order requires DPR
to adopt new regulations for field applications of methyl bromide
-- which could result in significant reductions in its use -- and
places in question the entire process the State has used in the
annual re-registration of methyl bromide.
The judge found DPR in violation of a 1989 state law requiring
adoption of clear, enforceable statewide regulations for methyl
bromide use by April of that year. Instead, DPR developed an
internal set of use "guidelines" that outlined the amount of the
pesticide to be used per acre and the size of protective buffer
zones around application sites. These guidelines have been
administered by county agriculture commissioners and subject to
change without public notice.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs will now draft an order for the judge to
approve outlining steps DPR must take to comply with the ruling.
At a minimum, DPR will be required to develop and adopt
regulations by a specific date. Environmental, labor and
community groups will participate in the regulation setting
process.
Methyl bromide is classified by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency as a Category I toxic compound, a
designation reserved for the most dangerous substances. It is
known to cause nerve damage and birth defects in laboratory
animals and even small doses are harmful to the lungs, kidneys,
eyes and skin. Methyl bromide is also a potent destroyer of the
Earth's protective ozone layer, and by international treaty will be
banned in the U.S. in 2005.
In California, methyl bromide is injected into the soil before
planting such crops as strawberries, almonds and wine grapes.
California uses more methyl bromide than any other state, with
more than 17 million pounds applied in 1995, much of it in
Central Coast strawberry fields. It is also commonly used in
Southern California to fumigate buildings for insects.
In the last two decades, at least 19 people have died in
California from exposure to methyl bromide in structural
fumigation. More than 1,600 have been poisoned and hundreds
evacuated from homes and schools after the toxic gas drifted
from fields -- even when applied according to the state's
guidelines.
Source: Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth,
Pesticide Action Network, Pesticide Watch and Western
Environmental Law Center press release, March 19, 1999.
Contact: Pesticide Action Network North America.
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