Stop the Replacement of Methyl Bromide with Methyl Iodide!

ACTION ALERT

Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR)

Stop the Replacement of Methyl Bromide with Methyl Iodide!

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SUMMARY

Methyl iodide is a chemical that the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is now evaluating for registration as a replacement for
the fumigant methyl bromide, which is being phased out because it
causes ozone depletion in the atmosphere. Methyl iodide is listed as
a carcinogen in California under Proposition 65. Because of the high
application rates and gaseous nature of these chemicals, they drift
away from the application site to poison farmworkers and neighboring
homes.

Please write EPA immediately and tell them not to allow the
registration of methyl iodide for agricultural use.

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BACKGROUND

The 1992 commitment by the world's nations to phase out methyl
bromide under the Montreal Protocol was a historic opportunity to
transition agricultural production to non-chemical and
biodiversity-friendly soil and pest management. Researchers and
farmers alike took on the task of finding ways to grow strawberries,
tomatoes, and other crops without chemicals that endanger the earth's
protective ozone layer. Unfortunately, the United States has been
back-peddling on this commitment for several years, and now the EPA
is facilitating a chemical industry and agribusiness effort to
introduce an even more severely toxic fumigant, methyl iodide.

Methyl iodide is even more hazardous to human health than methyl
bromide. Cancer researchers have used methyl iodide in laboratories
to induce cancer in mammalian cells. The state of California lists it
as a carcinogen under Proposition 65. The EPA found that methyl iodide
caused thyroid tumors, but managed to keep the producer happy by
invoking a previously unheard of cancer ranking -- "Not likely to be
carcinogenic to humans at doses that do not alter rat thyroid hormone
homeostasis." It is worth noting that the Cancer Assessment Review
Committee used only a single study to come to this conclusion -- a
study in which 62-66% of the rats in both the control group and the
high dose group died during the experiment, bringing into question
the scientific validity of the study. In addition to the thyroid
tumors observed in the study, large and significant changes were
observed in thyroid hormone levels, which are intimately tied to
metabolic disorders and immune function. Other animal studies
evaluated by the EPA also indicated that methyl iodide causes
respiratory tract lesions, neurological effects, and miscarriages.

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ACTION

Please write the EPA immediately and tell them to not allow the
registration of methyl iodide for agricultural use by sending an
email to the Director of the EPA Offices of Pesticide Programs at

opp-docket [at] epa.gov. See sample letter, below.

The deadline for public comments on the registration of methyl iodide
is February 6, 2006.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact Stephenie Hendricks, Media Director at Pesticide Action
Network, at Stephenie [at] panna.org or visit
http://pesticidereform.org/phplist/lt.php?id=YhoEWAsMRQQHSVYKBw%3D%3D

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SAMPLE LETTER

Subject: Docket #EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0252-0002, EPA Public Docket

opp-docket [at] epa.gov

Dear Jim 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, neurological
problems and depression. 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 the 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
demands that you refuse the registration of methyl iodide. I urge you
to do so.

Sincerely,



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