EPA Carbofuran Ban

Last Friday, the Washington Post reported a surprising ban -- the Environmental Protection Agency had decided to no longer allow Carbofuran pesticides to be used in domestic agriculture or in food imported into the US (click on the title for a link to the article). Oddly enough, this issue has been getting very little press. Carbofuran, manufactured by FMC Corporation under the name Furadan, is a member of carbamate pesticide family and is used to kill insects, mites, and nematodes on crops such as soybeans, potatoes, bananas, sugar cane, rice, corn, and coffee. It is only used on about 1% of farmland due to a 1994 EPA ban on its granule form. The EPA had said earlier this year that the ban would not be extended to imports, but the release on Friday contradicted this. This decision has faced significant opposition from FMC, who will continue to manufacture and sell the product.

While banning chemicals on imports is unusual in and of itself, the real shock with this ban is the fact that the EPA has not yet proven that Carbofuran does serious harm. According to the Extension Toxicology Network, Carbofuran does very little damage to human beings. Studies show that Carbofuran has very few long-term effects; however, its acute symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, sweating, diarrhea, excessive salivation, weakness, imbalance, blurring of vision, breathing difficulty, increased blood pressure, and incontinence. The EPA's decisions was based on the fact that Carbofuran chemical residue exceeded the safety standard for toddlers by 200 percent. Although the Agriculture Department had said in an earlier ruling that there were economic benefits to keeping the pesticide on the market, the EPA didn't take these comments into account. Also unusual was the EPA's decision to impose an outright ban, instead of the normal registration cancellation process, which bans the selling of the product (this process is currently ongoing for company FMC). FMC, which is currently fighting the ban in federal court, is the first company in twenty years to resist an EPA pesticide ban ruling.

This ban will have a major impact not just on health, but also on the environment. Carbofuran is highly toxic to birds, fish, and -- most importantly -- bees, which have been mysteriously disappearing at higher and higher rates. A single grain of Carbofuran can kill a bird, and some fish have been known to accumulate the toxin, which then enters into our food supply. Carbofuran can also accumulate in soil, where it has a half-life of 30-120 days. It also acumulates in food since it is applied directly to the roots and then absorbed up into the plant (where it has a half-life of four days). The EPA did the right thing -- no one wants pesticides in their food supply or in their soil. Hopefully this ban, if it isn't overruled by FMC's case, will help bring back some of the honey bee population. Good going, EPA!

Happy? Earth Day!

It's Earth Day! Do anything exciting?

There's a ton of press leading up to today, all really interesting. The Washington Post looks at the death of Earth Day today and also had a good look at Mountain Top Removal on Sunday. They also launched a new "Green Section" online.

MSN has a special section and there was a ton of press coverage of Bush's climate change "initiative", if you can call it that. There's talk of fuel economy guidelines being released to meet the 35mpg standards in the next decade, and more and more.

So, suddenly everyone cares - or it looks like they care. My question is does it matter? Is it too late? There seem to be lots of magic solutions to climate change, but nobody mentions that the use of ethanol could lead to higher food prices (which, by the way, have been increasing and are now called a "Silent Tsunami").

Also, how do you or did you celebrate Earth Day? I suggest planting a tree - maybe Apple.