Tell the EPA to stop poisoning our farmlands and communities
The EPA is considering the approval of methyl iodide, a cancer-causing chemical, as an agricultural pesticide to be used on some of our favorite foods such as strawberries, tomatoes, and peppers.
Fumigant pesticides are volatile chemicals that are injected into the soil at high rates. They drift away from the application site to contaminate groundwater, poison neighbors and farm workers, and endanger schools and communities surrounding fumigated fields.
The state of California already lists methyl iodide as a carcinogen under Proposition 65. Researchers using methyl iodide use great caution, transferring small quantities from sealed tubes with syringes under special ventilation hoods. Should we then be pumping large amounts of this chemical into our farm fields and the air we breathe?!
Non-toxic alternatives to fumigants such as crop rotation, cover cropping, and solarization exist and are already in use by organic farmers. EPA needs to work with USDA to invest in further research and help put these methods into the hands of the producers.
There is no excuse to poison our communities! The EPA is taking public comments on the registration of methyl iodide through February 21st, 2006. Join scientists, organic growers and public health advocates in voicing your concern. Take action by sending your comment to the EPA today.
Please note: thoughtful and respectful comments have the most impact.
Dear Mr. Jones,
Please refuse to register methyl iodide for agricultural use. As you know from your health risk assessment, methyl iodide is a threat to air and water supplies and linked to a variety of illnesses and disease, including cancer, developmental toxicity and neurological problems. Rural communities have repeatedly been poisoned by existing fumigants -- it is time to move to much safer methods of pest control, not backwards to a chemical that is even more toxic.
I appreciate your efforts to identify replacements for methyl bromide and support complete phase out of that chemical in accordance with the Montreal Protocol.
Please invest EPA focus and resources on non-chemical alternatives to methyl bromide and work with USDA to provide funding for our farmers to transition towards least-toxic methods of growing food and fiber. Your responsibility for protecting public health is best fulfilled by refusing to register methyl iodide. I urge you to do so.
[your comment here]
Sincerely,
[your name]
[your address]
