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November 8, 2023

State regulation for 1,3-D exposes farmworker communities to dangerously high cancer risk

Racist new rule overwhelmingly impacts Latino communities


The statewide coalition Californians for Pesticide Reform unequivocally denounces the regulation finalized today by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for the drift-prone, cancer-causing fumigant pesticide 1,3-dichloropropene.


In the face of settled science, DPR has chosen to ignore the cancer risk level determined to be safe for all Californians and has instead chosen a risk level for the mostly Latino residents of farmworking communities that is fourteen times higher.


This is racism, pure and simple. 


More than 99.9% of the public comment on the draft regulation called for DPR to follow the 2022 determination by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), which found that lifetime exposure in excess of 3.7 micrograms per day (equivalent to 0.04 parts per billion) posed an unacceptable cancer risk. 


DPR ignored this outpouring of public comment and instead chose a regulatory target of 0.56parts per billion - fourteen times higher than OEHHA’s “No Significant Risk Level.” 


To be clear: exposure to this gaseous and highly drift-prone fumigant pesticide is almost entirely confined to those who live and work near where it is applied. While OEHHA’s determination applies equally to all Californians, the people at greatest risk of illness and death resulting from 1,3-D exposure are overwhelmingly of Mexican and Central American origin. A regulation that harms a single racial group with such surgical precision is a violation of civil rights laws and common decency.


Although 1,3-D is a little known chemical, it is the third most heavily used pesticide in California, a known carcinogen, a volatile organic compound and a Toxic Air Contaminant. It is already banned in 34 countries around the world, including major agricultural economies such as France and the UK, where it is considered too toxic to use safely in any amount. In California, around 11 million pounds of 1,3-D are used each year, most heavily on the almond orchards of the San Joaquin Valley and the strawberry fields of the Central Coast.


We often hear the claim that California has the strictest pesticide regulations in the world. DPR’s regulation of 1,3-D, a gift to industry that perpetuates the status quo of cancer-causing fumigations in our rural neighborhoods, exposes that claim as a risible lie. 


Proposed new rule will provide advance notice of some pesticide applications

After decades of repeated demands by farmworking communities for the basic right to know in advance about planned applications of hazardous agricultural chemicals, the Department of Pesticide Regulation last week announced a draft rule that will provide notification of applications of pesticides classified as "Restricted Materials" - those for which growers must obtain a permit because they are considered particularly hazardous or drift-prone.


CPR welcomes this precedent-setting advance in transparency.


However, the current draft will not provide the exact location of an application, even though the location is known in advance to the County Agricultural Commissioner, instead offering only the 1x1 square mile "section."


Pilot notification programs last year confirmed that failing to provide exact location makes it very hard to act. People want to know what's planned for the field across the street, not a mile across town.


Also, instead of involving impacted residents to serve as advisors, DPR plans to issue its own report on the effectiveness of the regulation after 3 years, with no commitment to making any changes if it's not working.


Restricted Material pesticide use is a tiny subset of all pesticide use. Many pesticides that are known to be harmful and are banned in other countries are not classified as restricted, and can continue to be used without notice.


DPR needs to hear from us all! Public comment is now open until January 12 via email to dpr23003@cdpr.ca.gov.

ACTION ALERT: DPR Public Hearings on Notification December 13, 14 & 19. Click for details!
Californians for Pesticide Reform | 145 E Hermosa Street, Lindsay, CA 93247 | pesticidereform.org
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