Fw: PANUPS: Action Alert: Strengthen Controls on Pesticide Drift

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----- Original Message ----- From: PANUPS Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 1:23 PM panups@... Subject: PANUPS: Action Alert: Strengthen Controls on Pesticide Drift ===========================================P A N U P SPesticide Action Network Updates Service===========================================Action Alert: Strengthen Controls on Pesticide DriftJanuary 18, 2002The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently consideringcomments on its draft Pesticide Registration (PR) Notice that aims tocontrol pesticide spray drift largely by changing the labeling ofpesticide products. The agency is accepting comments on the PR Noticeuntil Friday March 29, 2002. Pesticide Action Network North America(PANNA) urges you to send a letter to EPA voicing your concerns aboutthe proposed drift-control strategies, emphasizing that for any approachto be truly effective, it must aim to reduce significantly the amount ofpesticides applied, in particular those that are the most toxic.Drift is a serious problem because pesticides do not stay where they areapplied. Spray droplets are blown downwind during applications,chemicals evaporate off of leaf and soil surfaces and drift away in thebreeze, and pesticide-coated soil particles can create toxic dustclouds. Nearly every pesticide application results in some amount ofdrift, and under certain wind and temperature conditions, up to 80% ofthe applied pesticide never reaches the target crop."The fundamental problem with EPA’s proposed drift-control measures isthe narrow definition of drift," said Kegley, Staff Scientist atPANNA. "EPA’s definition fails to address any off-site pesticidemovement that occurs after an application. The result is that they areignoring 75 to 95% of total drift for many pesticides. Such a limitedview won’t address the real problems," she added.Another flaw in the proposed regulation is that technical specificationshave only a limited ability to control drift despite improvedengineering. "Acute poisonings still occur with disturbing regularityand chronic poisonings are even more common. More of the same‘technology enhancement’ approach will not protect people and theenvironment," Kegley commented.In addition, a crucial issue is that toxicological data on inhalationexposures are not available for most pesticides. Inhaled pesticidesbypass the digestive system’s powerful enzymes that help break downchemicals before they are circulated to all parts of the body. Also,EPA’s current risk assessments assume that people are exposed to onlyone pesticide at a time despite air monitoring data that show thatpeople are frequently exposed to multiple pesticides simultaneously inthe air they breathe. The toxicological effects of exposure to multiplechemicals are unknown."Simply put, we need new strategies to control pesticide drift. The realsolution for reducing drift is to ban the use of drift-prone pesticidesand problematic spray technologies altogether," Kegley stated.The off-site movement of agricultural pesticides causes economic damageto both organic and conventional farms and affects farm workers andneighboring communities. Between 1991 and 1996, California's Departmentof Pesticide Regulation reported nearly 4,000 cases of agriculturalpesticide poisoning. Approximately 44% of those cases were caused bydrift, affecting both individuals and groups of workers.In addition to exposure of agricultural workers and their families,drift exposure occurs in areas where population growth is rapid, and newhousing developments are built next to farmlands. In 1999, over 150people were forced from their homes in Earlimart, California whenpesticide fumes blanketed the town after fumigation of a local potatofield went awry. Fire fighters forced affected residents to strip nakedand hosed them down with water to decontaminate them. Thirty people wentto the emergency room, but many more could not go because they could notafford it. Over two years later, many of those exposed to the fumigantare still experiencing respiratory problems.Organic farmers face a particularly difficult situation when toxicpesticides drift onto their land since residues from pesticide drift canprevent their produce from being labeled as organic. Delayedcertification, disruption of beneficial insects and even destruction ofcrops from pesticide drift can have negative economic consequences fororganic farms.Studies in California have also shown that ecosystems suffer whenpesticides drift far away from their intended target. When theCalifornia State Water Quality Control Board measured the concentrationof diazinon, an organophosphorus insecticide, in rainwater, it foundlevels of the pesticide that exceeded the lethal dose for Daphnia, asmall invertebrate used to test the toxicity of natural waters. The samepesticide was found in high concentrations in frogs in mountains 50miles from agricultural areas, and has been linked to the decline intheir numbers.ACTION: Submit your comments to EPA on Pesticide Registration Notice2001-X, "Spray and Dust Drift Label Statements for Pesticide Products,"on or before Friday March 29, 2002. The EPA Notice can be found athttp://www.epa.gov/opppmsd1/PR_Notices/prdraft-spraydrift801.htm.Send emails to opp-docket@..., with OPP- 00730A in the subject line,or send a letter referencing Docket No. OPP- 00730A to:Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB)Information Resources and Services Division (7502C)Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP)Environmental Protection Agency1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NWWashington, DC 20460 U.S.A.For a sample letter and more detailed talking points, please seehttp://www.panna.org/billboard_020118.dv.html.Sources: Global Pesticide Campaigner, August 2001;http://www.panna.org/billboard_020118.dv.html.Contact: PANNA.PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides andreporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by themainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network NorthAmerica, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working toadvance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work andall contributions are tax deductible in the United States. Visithttp://www.panna.org/donate.===========================================NOTE: Replies to the sender of this messagewill not be read.To comment, send a message to:panna@...To subscribe, send a blank message to:panups-subscribe@...To unsubscribe, send a blank message to:panups-unsubscribe@...Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)49 St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USAPhone: (415) 981-1771Fax: (415) 981-1991Email: panna@...Web: http://www.panna.org=============================================^================================================================This email was sent to: bherk@...EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://igc.topica.com/u/?aVxh9y.aVx1nSOr send an email to: panups-unsubscribe@...T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register==^================================================================

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----- Original Message ----- From: PANUPS Sent: Friday, January 18, 2002 1:23 PM panups@... Subject: PANUPS: Action Alert: Strengthen Controls on Pesticide Drift ===========================================P A N U P SPesticide Action Network Updates Service===========================================Action Alert: Strengthen Controls on Pesticide DriftJanuary 18, 2002The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently consideringcomments on its draft Pesticide Registration (PR) Notice that aims tocontrol pesticide spray drift largely by changing the labeling ofpesticide products. The agency is accepting comments on the PR Noticeuntil Friday March 29, 2002. Pesticide Action Network North America(PANNA) urges you to send a letter to EPA voicing your concerns aboutthe proposed drift-control strategies, emphasizing that for any approachto be truly effective, it must aim to reduce significantly the amount ofpesticides applied, in particular those that are the most toxic.Drift is a serious problem because pesticides do not stay where they areapplied. Spray droplets are blown downwind during applications,chemicals evaporate off of leaf and soil surfaces and drift away in thebreeze, and pesticide-coated soil particles can create toxic dustclouds. Nearly every pesticide application results in some amount ofdrift, and under certain wind and temperature conditions, up to 80% ofthe applied pesticide never reaches the target crop."The fundamental problem with EPA’s proposed drift-control measures isthe narrow definition of drift," said Kegley, Staff Scientist atPANNA. "EPA’s definition fails to address any off-site pesticidemovement that occurs after an application. The result is that they areignoring 75 to 95% of total drift for many pesticides. Such a limitedview won’t address the real problems," she added.Another flaw in the proposed regulation is that technical specificationshave only a limited ability to control drift despite improvedengineering. "Acute poisonings still occur with disturbing regularityand chronic poisonings are even more common. More of the same‘technology enhancement’ approach will not protect people and theenvironment," Kegley commented.In addition, a crucial issue is that toxicological data on inhalationexposures are not available for most pesticides. Inhaled pesticidesbypass the digestive system’s powerful enzymes that help break downchemicals before they are circulated to all parts of the body. Also,EPA’s current risk assessments assume that people are exposed to onlyone pesticide at a time despite air monitoring data that show thatpeople are frequently exposed to multiple pesticides simultaneously inthe air they breathe. The toxicological effects of exposure to multiplechemicals are unknown."Simply put, we need new strategies to control pesticide drift. The realsolution for reducing drift is to ban the use of drift-prone pesticidesand problematic spray technologies altogether," Kegley stated.The off-site movement of agricultural pesticides causes economic damageto both organic and conventional farms and affects farm workers andneighboring communities. Between 1991 and 1996, California's Departmentof Pesticide Regulation reported nearly 4,000 cases of agriculturalpesticide poisoning. Approximately 44% of those cases were caused bydrift, affecting both individuals and groups of workers.In addition to exposure of agricultural workers and their families,drift exposure occurs in areas where population growth is rapid, and newhousing developments are built next to farmlands. In 1999, over 150people were forced from their homes in Earlimart, California whenpesticide fumes blanketed the town after fumigation of a local potatofield went awry. Fire fighters forced affected residents to strip nakedand hosed them down with water to decontaminate them. Thirty people wentto the emergency room, but many more could not go because they could notafford it. Over two years later, many of those exposed to the fumigantare still experiencing respiratory problems.Organic farmers face a particularly difficult situation when toxicpesticides drift onto their land since residues from pesticide drift canprevent their produce from being labeled as organic. Delayedcertification, disruption of beneficial insects and even destruction ofcrops from pesticide drift can have negative economic consequences fororganic farms.Studies in California have also shown that ecosystems suffer whenpesticides drift far away from their intended target. When theCalifornia State Water Quality Control Board measured the concentrationof diazinon, an organophosphorus insecticide, in rainwater, it foundlevels of the pesticide that exceeded the lethal dose for Daphnia, asmall invertebrate used to test the toxicity of natural waters. The samepesticide was found in high concentrations in frogs in mountains 50miles from agricultural areas, and has been linked to the decline intheir numbers.ACTION: Submit your comments to EPA on Pesticide Registration Notice2001-X, "Spray and Dust Drift Label Statements for Pesticide Products,"on or before Friday March 29, 2002. The EPA Notice can be found athttp://www.epa.gov/opppmsd1/PR_Notices/prdraft-spraydrift801.htm.Send emails to opp-docket@..., with OPP- 00730A in the subject line,or send a letter referencing Docket No. OPP- 00730A to:Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (PIRIB)Information Resources and Services Division (7502C)Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP)Environmental Protection Agency1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NWWashington, DC 20460 U.S.A.For a sample letter and more detailed talking points, please seehttp://www.panna.org/billboard_020118.dv.html.Sources: Global Pesticide Campaigner, August 2001;http://www.panna.org/billboard_020118.dv.html.Contact: PANNA.PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides andreporting on pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by themainstream media. It's produced by Pesticide Action Network NorthAmerica, a non-profit and non-governmental organization working toadvance sustainable alternatives to pesticides worldwide.You can join our efforts! We gladly accept donations for our work andall contributions are tax deductible in the United States. Visithttp://www.panna.org/donate.===========================================NOTE: Replies to the sender of this messagewill not be read.To comment, send a message to:panna@...To subscribe, send a blank message to:panups-subscribe@...Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA)49 St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94102 USAPhone: (415) 981-1771Fax: (415) 981-1991Email: panna@...Web: http://www.panna.org===========================================T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register==^================================================================