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Press Release Contact:
Tuesday, December 5,
2000
202/462-6262
Adam Goldberg, goldad@consumer.org
David Butler, butlda@consumer.org
Consumers
Union Washington, DC Office
WASHINGTON - Consumers Union (CU) today called
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s decision to phase out
non-agricultural uses of the pesticide diazinon an important move to
protect children's health and the environment from potentially
harmful exposures to this widely-used chemical. With this move, EPA
will have eliminated the use of all organophosphate insecticides in
and around the home. EPA's announcement also included the
elimination of the pesticide's use on many of the agricultural crops
on which its use is now allowed.
"Children's exposure to diazinon is a major
concern," said Adam Goldberg, a policy analyst at Consumers Union.
"Not only is diazinon in foods kids eat on a regular basis, but it's
also commonly found in drinking water. Plus, it is used on lawns and
in parks and other recreational settings. These are the places where
kids like to play, and if diazinon is used there, they can't avoid
it."
"We have been pleased with the EPA's recent
decisions to restrict uses of the riskiest pesticides, such as
Dursban and diazinon," Goldberg added. "With the arrival of a new
Administration, there are likely to be changes in personnel at the
agency. Regardless of who is in charge, we hope they will continue
to make the progress that we've seen in the last six months."
Diazinon is an organophosphate insecticide with
a wide range of agricultural, ranching, home and urban applications.
Diazinon is used on many of the foods that kids eat every day,
including grapes, green beans, peaches and green leafy vegetables.
Multiple uses create many different sources of exposure, both for
people and birds, fish, bees, and other non-target organisms. It is
a neurotoxicant and affects key developmental processes. Diazinon
also can pose serious risks to farmworkers re-entering treated
fields. People who live or work in farming areas can be exposed to
dangerous levels by drift from treated fields or through water.
Diazinon is particularly toxic to birds. CU
has worked with Pierre Mineau of the Canadian National Wildlife
Research Centre to study the chemical's effect on wildlife. Dr.
Mineau's research shows that even small exposures to diazinon can be
lethal for many different species of bird.
Charles Benbrook, a CU consultant, said, "It is
no wonder diazinon is responsible for so many bird kills in parks,
people's backyards and in and around treated farms. It is the most
toxic pesticide registered for widespread use in these sensitive
environments. These are places that attract birds and people for the
same reasons. Diazinon is over six-times more toxic to birds than
chlorpyrifos, an insecticide that EPA recently all but cancelled for
most home and urban uses."
"Consumers Union believes that EPA has, in
fact, made a strong case to ban all uses of diazinon based on
environmental risks, especially avian risks," Benbrook points out.
"The levels at which this insecticide is found in water, air, rain
and fog makes it a danger to most common bird species, as well as
many other non-target organisms, including people."
"That's why we recommended a complete phase out
in earlier comments to EPA," Benbrook added. "While we wish the
agency had gone farther on agricultural uses, today's decision on
non-agricultural uses of diazinon will make a significant difference
for children's health." [Note to Editors: CU's comments on
diazinon can be found on the Internet at http://www.ecologic-ipm.com/diazinon_comments.pdf.]
EPA's review of diazinon was conducted under
the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). The FQPA, which Congress
passed unanimously in 1996, requires EPA to review all pesticide
exposure limits to make sure they are safe for young children.
Review of the more than 9,000 pesticide tolerances on the books is
ongoing, and the law gives EPA until 2006 to complete the task. EPA
must not only review each individual pesticide use, but must examine
the effects of exposure to more than one pesticide at a time, as well
as exposures from multiple sources.
The diazinon review comes on the heels of EPA's
review of another controversial pesticide, chlorpyrifos, also known
as Dursban. In that case, EPA eliminated most non-agricultural uses,
severely restricted its use on grapes and apples, and prohibited its
use on tomatoes.
"There are a number of effective alternatives
for diazinon, and more are in the pipeline," Benbrook said. "There
is no reason, knowing what we know about this chemical, that it
should remain on the market. EPA's decision to phase out all
non-agricultural uses, and a number of agricultural uses, gives
farmers time to make the transition to safer alternatives and will
assure wider margins of safety for children from exposure to this
dangerous insecticide and others in its chemical class."
Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, is an independent nonprofit testing, educational and information organization serving only the consumers. We are a comprehensive source of unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health, nutrition and other consumer concerns. Since 1936, our mission has been to test products, inform the public and protect consumers.
