Methyl bromide, injected into soil, kills a broad spectrum of insects and diseases. It is used primarily on three high-value crops: strawberries, tomatoes and bell peppers. Florida is the largest user, followed by California, particularly Ventura and Santa Cruz counties.
In California, methyl bromide use declined 44% from 1994 to 2004. Growers of the state's strawberries, a crop valued at more than $1 billion a year, have sought alternative pest controls since 1992, when the pesticide was added to the treaty.
U.S. farm groups and chemical companies have pressured the EPA for increased production, saying they worry about shortages.
Reacting to the new data, David R. Riggs of the Crop Protection Coalition, which represents 35 agricultural associations, said it was "arguable" whether the stockpile should be larger or smaller. But the most important fact, he said, is that it is getting considerably smaller every year.
"The EPA is driving down the inventories," said Riggs, former president of the California Strawberry Commission. "We're all phasing methyl bromide out. What we're trying to do is balance the environmental issues with our ability to produce food in the U.S. and participate in international trade on a level playing field."
But Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council said "there's absolutely no justification for having a huge inventory" of an ozone-depleting chemical when the international pact says all nations "should have as little on hand as possible," a couple of months' worth.
The environmental group had sought the stockpile data through the Freedom of Information Act for two years; the EPA released it last week after chemical companies dropped lawsuits seeking to keep the data private.
"The EPA has hidden how much stockpile it's had, so the other countries haven't been in the position of saying, 'You've got this stuff, you have to use it first,' " Doniger said.
Europe's approach differs sharply from the U.S. government's because it uses its existing stock before allowing more production.
Hufford said the EPA was glad that it could legally disclose the information. "The public certainly has a right to know about everything that affects the ozone layer," she said.
The United States, by far the largest user, is seeking U.N. approval to use 14 million pounds of methyl bromide in 2008, about the size of its reserve projected for that year. The State Department leads the Bush administration's negotiating team.
