Sacramento protest targets farm chemical

By E.J. Schultz / Bee Capitol Bureau

SACRAMENTO -- The fight over a potent farm chemical is heating up as state regulators near a decision on approving its use in California.

At a Capitol rally Monday, environmentalists and farmworker advocates urged the state Department of Pesticide Regulation to deny registration of methyl iodide, a pest-killing fumigant that opponents say causes cancer and contaminates waterways.

"It is the worst fumigant we could possibly even think of developing for registration in California," said Martha Guzman-Aceves, a legislative advocate for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

Fumigant supporters have launched their own public relations blitz, including promoting the chemical at the Web site "agcommonsense.com."

"Extremists are working hard to keep this badly needed tool out of the hands of California growers. If successful, the future of California agriculture could be jeopardized," the Web site declares.

Industry groups are pushing the fumigant as a replacement for methyl bromide, which is being phased out by the federal government because it damages Earth's protective ozone layer.

Methyl bromide has been heavily used on strawberry crops, especially along the Central Coast. Growers in the Valley have used the chemical to kill pests when planting orchards and vineyards.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 registered the new fumigant, methyl iodide, but put restrictions on its use. The fumigant, made by Tokyo-based Arysta LifeScience Corp., is registered in 47 states and is being used in 12 of them, according to the state Department of Pesticide Regulation.

In response to the health concerns, the department formed an external review committee chaired by John Froines, director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of California at Los Angeles.

The committee is expected to issue its findings soon, which the department says will "serve as the basis for the decision on whether methyl iodide should be registered in California." The ruling could come around the first of the year, said department spokeswoman Lea Brooks.