Fumigant Pesticides are Toxic Poisons - Tell the EPA to Phase Them Out!

Dear Environmental Protection Agency Members,

I am signing this petition to request that the Environmental Protection Agency:

- Initiate a permanent phase-out of soil fumigant pesticides and not register any new toxic chemical as a replacement. These chemicals are dangerous to human health and the environment. It is impossible to adequately manage the risks associated with their use. Communities have been poisoned. Workers are routinely exposed and their health is frequently permanently damaged.

- Cancel the registration of methyl bromide, ending a serious human health hazard for thousands of farmworkers and nearby communities, and eliminating a major threat to the stratospheric ozone layer.

- Work collaboratively with USDA to ensure that farmers receive assistance and support while transitioning to the least-toxic pest management methods that do not require use of toxic fumigants.

- In the interim period of fumigants phase-out, enact and implement regulations that protect workers and communities from all potentially harmful exposures, acute, sub-chronic and chronic. Fumigant mitigation measures must include: buffer zones around fumigated fields, community notification of fumigant applications, funding for air monitoring near fumigated sites to protect communities and on-site monitoring in fumigated fields to protect workers.

Most fumigants have serious chronic toxicity and are applied at very high rates. Injuries of farmworkers and bystanders as well as massive community poisonings by fumigants have been documented in California and Florida. Fumigants are substantial contributors to ozone-producing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that pollute the air. Methyl bromide erodes the stratospheric ozone layer that protects the earth from the sun's ultraviolet rays. Fumigants are difficult to apply without making mistakes, which can be devastating for individuals and communities.

The EPA is evaluating these chemicals for re-registration under the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. Please take this opportunity to enact landmark regulations to protect America's farmworkers, rural communities and the environment.

I urge the U.S. EPA to use its authority to phase out fumigants, establish protective mitigation measures during the phase-out period, and give incentives to farmers to transition away from fumigants as a pest control strategy.

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Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]