The EPA last year dropped its plan to approve methyl iodide after objections from the United Farm Workers, environmental groups and California pesticide officials. But after reviewing additional data, a one-year approval was granted.
EPA scientists reviewed data from test fields in Ventura County, Watsonville and Florida where methyl iodide was applied. They concluded that the amounts people might be exposed to "are well below those that would cause thyroid effects leading to cancer" or other effects in fetuses, children or adults.
"We evaluated the probability of being exposed to concentrations that could possibly lead to adverse health effects and found that those levels would not be reached under the stringent use conditions that will be imposed," the EPA's Gulliford wrote to the scientists.
Use of certified commercial applicators will be required, and buffer zones must be maintained around fields to protect workers and bystanders. The buffers range from 25 to 500 feet depending on the size of the field and the amount of fumigant used.
Shovelers, tractor drivers and other employees of companies applying the fumigant must be trained and wear respirators, and farmworkers cannot enter the fields for five days after it is applied.
Use is prohibited within a quarter-mile of a school, day-care facility, nursing home, hospital, prison or playground.
Strawberry growers alone could use 3 million pounds of methyl iodide annually to replace methyl bromide. Only areas with special "critical use" exemptions, largely in California and Florida, are still allowed to use some methyl bromide.
The California Strawberry Commission, in a letter to the EPA last year, called methyl iodide a "highly promising alternative" that is "essential to our continued transition away" from methyl bromide.
Many California growers, however, say they will not use fumigants because they are expensive and the state requires many safeguards, such as tarps and buffer zones.
EPA officials said the approval is limited to one year because the agency is developing new regulations for all fumigants. California also has proposed new restrictions on fumigants after facing a court order to control smog-forming emissions.
--
marla.cone@latimes.com
