July 19, 2010
Legislative Democrats want to delay approval of a potent farm fumigant that growers say is needed for healthy crops but critics call dangerous to humans.
Injecting the issue into state budget negotiations, lawmakers are pushing a proposal to override a review process under way at the state Department of Pesticide Regulation.
Department officials gave preliminary approval in April to the fumigant, methyl iodide, but are weighing public opinion before officially registering the product.
The Democrats' proposal would suspend registration for one year and mandate a new independent review of methyl iodide. The pesticide department also would have to submit a report to the Legislature justifying any disagreements with the new review.
The department commissioned a study by a scientific panel that found that the fumigant poses significant health risks. Regulators still moved forward with registration, but added conditions that officials say are stricter than federally required safeguards.
Listed by the state as a carcinogen, methyl iodide can cause thyroid cancer and neurological harm in laboratory animals.
Farmers are counting on it to replace methyl bromide, a fumigant being phased out because it damages Earth's ozone layer. The pesticide department is several months away from making a final decision. Growers hope to use the new product by the fall of 2011 but fear the proposal would push back that date.
"If both methyl bromide is taken off the table and methyl iodide is not registered, it would essentially bring to an entire stop all production of food crops in California," said Robert Dolezal, executive vice president of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers.
In the Central Valley, methyl bromide is mostly used to eradicate weeds, pests and soil diseases in vineyards and orchards. The fumigant is heavily used in the Central Coast on strawberry crops.
The legislative intervention was recently approved by the joint Senate-Assembly committee charged with crafting a state budget for the fiscal year that started July 1.
"If (the pesticide department) is not willing to listen to its own scientific panel that it convened, then I think it is appropriate for the Legislature to step in and ask for a timeout on its use," said Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, who led a hearing on the issue last month.
Republicans voted no, saying the matter did not belong in a budget committee. The proposal still must be approved by the full Senate and Assembly as well as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"The governor appreciates the Legislature's input on this important issue and urges them to work with the department on policy instead of trying to usurp the normal process," said spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola.
At the hearing last month, pesticide regulation director Mary-Ann Warmerdam defended the department's methyl iodide review. But members of the scientific panel testified that health protections do not go far enough.
Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/19/2898688/legislative-democrats-push-delay.html#mi_rss=State%20Politics#ixzz0uA9zox7m
Posts
