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Pesticide banned for good reason, says commentary

Posted by: Maven on February 18, 2010 at 6:23 am

From the Bakersfield Californian, this commentary by Susana De Anda, co-executive director of the Community Water Center:

“Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. It’s not hard to remember the use of soil fumigants DBCP and EDB in the Central Valley in the 1950s through 1970s and the toxic legacy it leaves with us today. In Fresno alone, 20 percent of the city’s wells were closed due to contamination by these pesticides, now known to cause both cancer and sterility in workers who formulated and applied the pesticides. Many valley towns still face high water treatment costs for these chemicals.

In a Feb. 11 Community Voices article, “Department of Pesticide Regulation stonewalling approval of key chemical,” state Sen. Roy Ashburn explained that in 2007, under the Bush Administration, the USEPA registered methyl iodide as a soil fumigant. He failed to add that this registration was completed despite the objection of over 50 eminent scientists, including five Nobel Laureates.

These scientists stated, “As chemists and physicians familiar with the effects of this chemical, we are concerned that pregnant women and the fetus, children, the elderly, farm workers and other people living near application sites would be at serious risk if methyl iodide is permitted for use in agriculture.” … “

February 18, 2010 · Filed Under Groundwater

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