Pesticide News Briefs
Edited by Fawn Pattison

Ruling benefits Ag-Mart
Tomato giant Ag-Mart is accused of exposing employees to toxic pesticides that may have resulted in tragic birth defects among their workers, but administrative law judge Beryl Wade ruled in December that more than two-thirds of the pesticide violations the produce company faces are invalid.  The ruling is based on records submitted by Ag-Mart to the NC Department of Agriculture, showing workers in the fields during restricted times when pesticides posed a hazard.  Ag-Mart successfully argued that the records were “just an educated guess” and could not be used to hold them accountable.  The NC Pesticide Board will have the final say in the case.  (Source: Raleigh News & Observer) 

Pesticide lawsuit against EPA reopened Farmworkers and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice have reopened a lawsuit against the US EPA in an attempt to more quickly phase out the use of a pesticide that has been applied to orchards and vegetable crops since the 1950s.  Azinphos-methyl (AZM) is highly toxic to humans and is responsible for many injuries to farmworkers each year.The groups sued EPA to end the use of AZM in 2004.  That lawsuit was put on hold when the EPA agreed to reconsider the use of AZM, but EPA has since decided on a graduated phase-out that will allow the use of AZM on some crops until 2012.  Earthjustice has reopened the lawsuit, and is considering adding to it a ban on chlorpyrifos – another pesticide highly dangerous to farmworkers. (Source: Associated Press)

Azinphos-methyl and chlorpyrifos, both highly toxic to farmworkers, are frequently applied to orchard crops such as apples.  Photo: USDA

Scientists protest U.S. EPA library closures
In a budget-trimming move expected to save the agency about $2 million, the US EPA is closing many of its libraries across the country and destroying irreplaceable documents.  While many EPA documents will be digitized and placed online, many unique materials written by non-EPA staff such as contractors, states, local governments and tribes, will be lost. Libraries at the General Services Administration and the Department of Energy are also being closed.One of the collections to be eliminated is the library of the Office of Pollution, Prevention and Toxic Substances, which houses scientific information about the health and environmental effects of pesticides and other chemicals. The loss of this information is expected to seriously damage the ability of EPA scientists to conduct required safety reviews of the chemicals it registers.  (Source:  Environmental Science & Technology)

Concern over chemicals’ brain risk
Toxic chemicals may be causing a pandemic of brain disorders because of inadequate regulation, researchers say.  A new review published in the medical journal the Lancet by researchers from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and the University of South Denmark identifies over 200 industrial chemicals, including metals, solvents and pesticides, which are suspected of damaging the developing brain.  Our experience with lead has illustrated how even low-level exposure to some contaminants can do permanent damage to a child’s brain.  According to the researchers, only a few substances, such as lead and mercury, are controlled with the purpose of protecting children. "The 200 other chemicals that are known to be toxic to the human brain are not regulated to prevent adverse effects on the fetus or a small child," stated Dr. Phillippe Grandjean, the report’s lead author. (Source: BBC News)

Toxic Free News is a publication of
Toxic Free North Carolina
206 New Bern Place, Raleigh, NC 27601, (919) 833-5333, Toll-free 1-877-NO-SPRAY
http://www.toxicfreenc.org

Mission: Toxic Free NC advocates for alternatives to toxic pesticides in North Carolina by empowering people to make sound decisions about their health and environment.

Staff: Communications Associate: Alejandra Gómez; Program Coordinator: Billie Karel; Executive Director: Fawn Pattison; Interns: Ben Matchar and Kim Moore

Board of Directors: Allen Spalt, President; Katherine M. Shea, Vice President; Colleen Boudreau, Treasurer; Annette Hiatt; Mindy Hiteshue; Cathy Jones; Omar Laínez; Annie O'Leary; Michelle Nowlin; Billie Rogers, Emeritus; Jane Sharp MacRae, Emeritus; Erick Umstead, Emeritus.

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