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California Growers and Pesticides

California farmers used fewer toxic pesticides last year, while increasing the amount of reduced-risk chemicals used to keep weeds and bugs at bay. But don’t celebrate yet -- use of one highly toxic fumigant continues to rise.

Telone – sprayed on strawberries, almonds, grapes and carrots – has become the new favorite for farmers looking to replace methyl bromide, which is being phased out under an international treaty because it damages the Earth’s ozone layer. Methyl bromide is also considered a potent neurotoxin.

But Telone, made by Dow Chemical Co., isn’t much better. It has been linked to cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma as well as several cancers in animals. Once banned by the state, it was allowed back into use in 1995 with new restrictions.

Pesticides pose risks to those who work with them as well as those who live nearby and could inhale the fumes of drifting gases. People who eat foods grown with pesticides are also at risk. The chemicals have been linked to cancer, neurological damage, birth defects and other reproductive problems.

Now California is poised to impose more stringent regulations on fumigants. But many wonder: Will they be strict enough?

For more information on this story, read the article in the LA Times. 

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org