SACRAMENTO — Handing a holiday gift to California farmers, Gov. Pete Wilson on Friday called a special session of the Legislature to avoid a looming statewide ban on methyl bromide, a popular but highly toxic pesticide.
Declaring that no effective alternative to methyl bromide has been developed, Wilson said forbidding use of the chemical would "devastate California's agriculture industry and threaten thousands of jobs."
"California is now at a critical juncture," Wilson said in a statement. "If we are to remain a competitive economic force . . . we must act now to prevent the suspended use of methyl bromide."
Methyl bromide is a clear, odorless fumigant pumped into the ground to sterilize soil before planting. It is widely used by growers of strawberries, which have delicate roots that need disease-free furrows, and on almonds, beans, tomatoes and numerous other vine and orchard crops.
After harvest, methyl bromide is used to protect the quality of produce and to prevent pest infestation during shipment. Many countries refuse to accept any exports, such as California fruits and nuts, unless they are treated first with methyl bromide.
Dubbed a "silver bullet" by growers because of its potency, methyl bromide is also acutely toxic. Research has shown it to cause birth defects in animals, and even small doses can affect the central nervous system and cause headaches, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.
Since 1982, the state Department of Pesticide Regulation has attributed 15 deaths to methyl bromide, all of them occurring when people entered fumigated buildings before the gas had dissipated. Hundreds of farm worker poisonings have also been recorded, and the chemical has been documented as a prime destroyer of the atmosphere's ozone layer, which protects the Earth from cancer-causing ultraviolet light.
Under the Birth Defects Prevention Act of 1984, manufacturers of methyl bromide, as well as many other chemicals, were required to prepare studies on the health effects of their product by 1991. They failed to meet that deadline, and the Legislature gave them an extension until March 30, 1996. If that deadline is not met, sales of the product will be banned.
Now manufacturers want a second extension. Gov. Wilson said their request is warranted because the health studies have been delayed by "legitimate scientific debate" among regulators over how the research should be performed.
