Environmental advocates are calling for tighter controls on the farm pesticide methyl bromide, after finding out there’s more of the chemical sitting around in places such as railroad tank cars. Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Transcript
Environmental advocates are calling for tighter controls on the farm pesticide methyl bromide, after finding out there’s more of the chemical sitting around in places such as railroad tank cars. Chuck Quirmbach reports:
Under an international agreement made during the 1980’s, the US is supposed to be phasing out use of methyl bromide. The chemical is linked to potential health risks and destruction of the ozone layer.
But it was recently learned that the size of the US stockpile of methyl bromide is larger than previously revealed. Now the Bush Administration has promised the US would try to cut production of methyl bromide while reducing the stockpile.
David Doniger of the Natural Resources Defense Council says it’s now up to the EPA to live up to that promise in upcoming regulations.
“The EPA needs to cut that production allowance, because the stockpiles are there to meet the needs.”
The EPA says it’s trying to keep a “strategic reserve” of methyl bromide, while a lot of money is being spent on developing alternative pesticides.
For the Environment Report, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.