Acknowledging that the allocations have been "an extraordinarily difficult international issue for a number of years," Hufford declined to comment on whether the size of the stockpile was likely to prompt cutbacks in the U.S. share.
Environmental activists worldwide have complained for years that the Bush administration is not being aggressive enough in scaling back methyl bromide and protecting the ozone layer.
In a report last month, scientists at the U.N. Environment Program and the World Meteorological Organization reported that the ozone layer was in worse shape than previously thought, and would take until 2065 to heal.
"Emissions associated with continued or expanded exemptions" of methyl bromide "may also delay recovery," the scientists reported.
Hufford said the United States had made "enormous progress both in terms of monitoring its inventory and reducing its critical-use exemptions."
marla.cone@latimes.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
Toxic chemical
Methyl bromide is an odorless gas that is injected into the soil in liquid form to kill insects and sterilize soil before the planting of strawberries, tomatoes and other crops.
Environmental concerns
Methyl bromide weakens the essential blanket of ozone in the "Earth's atmosphere that helps keep out the sun's" harmful ultraviolet rays.
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The pesticide lingers in the air long enough for it to be transported by winds into the upper atmosphere, where it releases the bromine atoms that cause the ozone to decompose.
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Global precautions
In 1992 the pesticide was added to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to gradually ban a variety of chemicals destroying the ozone barrier.
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U.S. methyl bromide stockpile
(In millions of pounds*)
2003: 36.2
2004: 28.6
2005: 22.0
2006**: 19.2
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U.S. exemptions
Despite the ban in 2005, the United Nations has given exemptions to the treaty for agricultural purposes deemed to be of "critical use."
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*As of year end **Projected
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Sources: Environmental Protection Agency
Graphics reporting by John Jackson and Marla Cone
