Fumigants are among the most dangerous pesticides on the market: they are extremely toxic, and prone to drifting away from fields and onto neighboring workers, schools, homes, parks and other sensitive sites. They make up 20% of agricultural pesticide use in California and are on record for having poisoned more than 860 workers and community members with symptoms of burning eyes, nausea, headaches, asthma attacks and throat irritation from 2003-2013 - and these reported poisonings are just the tip of the iceberg. Due to their toxicity and how easily they drift off site, they are simply too dangerous to use.
Current rules only require minimal notification for one fumigant pesticide (methyl bromide). The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) is considering expanding notification rules to cover all fumigants.
We need to tell DPR that all schools, homes, hospitals, and other sensitive sites need to be notified before each and every fumigant application!
Please attend one of these PUBLIC WORKSHOPS for FEEDBACK on new FUMIGANT NOTIFICATION rules:
Salinas area
April 12, 2016, 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Spreckels Veterans Memorial Building
90 5th Street
Spreckels, CA 93962
Spreckels is approximately 5 miles from downtown Salinas.
The workshop will include simultaneous Spanish interpretation.
Fresno area
April 14, 2016, 6:00 p.m - 9:30 p.m.
Mosqueda Community Center
4670 E. Butler Avenue
Fresno, CA 93702
The workshop will include simultaneous Spanish and Hmong interpretation.
Public Comment:
- There will be opportunity for public comment in English or Spanish after brief presentations from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
- If you plan to testify, please state your name and where you are from and then comment briefly (3 to 5 minutes) on why you think notification of fumigations can help reduce fumigant exposure problems and how you think the notification should be given.
- If you were exposed to fumigant drift in the past explain briefly where and when you were exposed, the symptoms or suffering it caused and how notification ahead of time could have prevented or reduced your exposure.
For more info please contact mark@pesticidereform.org
