ALERT
OF THE WEEK:
EPA APPROVES PESTICIDE KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER & MISCARRIAGES
On October 5, the EPA approved a new chemical fumigant for
use on strawberries and other food crops across the U.S. The
pesticide, methyl iodide, vaporizes quickly, causing it to
drift far distances. Although the state of California has
categorized it as cancer causing, and the EPA admits it causes
thyroid tumors, the Bush Administration has been advocating
approval of the fumigant for the better part of two years.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson on September
25, the nation’s leading chemists asked EPA not to approve
methyl iodide without further scientific review. The chemical
has been used to induce cancer in laboratory experiments and
causes neurological and thyroid problems, as well as miscarriages
in studies with laboratory animals. Farmworkers, families,
rural workers, and the food supply will now be subjected to
exposure to the carcinogen unless the EPA revokes the approval
immediately.
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