EPA CANCELS USE OF TWO INSECTICIDES
 

AUBURN, AUG. 20---Some Alabama fruit and vegetable growers will soon have to contend with the loss of two insecticides.

The two insecticides -- Methyl-Parathion and Azinphos-Methyl -- are broad-spectrum insecticides used to control several common pests, including stinkbugs and weevils.

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited a need to reduce the risk to  infants and children as the major reason for canceling these uses," says Dr. Wheeler Foshee, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System pesticide education specialist.

"While these chemicals pose no risk to consumers as far as residues on fruits and vegetables are concerned, both can be acutely toxic to farm workers if not handled properly.

Based on newer, more stringent guidelines, EPA determined both of these chemicals posed some risk and should be limited on some crops."

While the insecticides will still be permitted on some crops, Methyl-Parathion will be banned on apples, peaches, pears, grapes, nectarines, cherries and plums. Carrots, some peas and beans, tomatoes and several other vegetable crops also fall under the ban.

Methyl-Parathion still will be allowed on alfalfa, almonds, corn, cotton, pecans and rye. Soybeans and wheat also will be unaffected by the ban.

Concerns about drinking water safety prompted EPA to cancel chemical applications of Azinphos-Methyl on cotton east of the Mississippi as well as on all sugar cane. The ban also includes ornamental, Christmas tree, forest tree and shade tree uses. EPA will permit applications of Azinphos-Methyl on peaches, apples and pears, although seasonal rates have been reduced. In addition, tolerance levels for these crops also have been reduced as an added safety measure.

Worker-protection standards for these two chemicals also have been increased.

The decision to restrict uses of these two chemicals stems from the Food Quality Protection Act. Under its provisions, EPA is required to assess the safety of all agricultural chemicals.

Producers whose crops will no longer be eligible for the application of these chemicals under the new provisions will still be permitted to apply them until December 31.

In the meantime, registrants of Methyl-Parathion must amend their labels to reflect only those uses permitted under the new EPA guidelines.

While there are effective substitutes for both of these chemicals, Foshee says producers will be forced to pay considerably more.

"The bottom line for the farmers is that both of these chemicals are cheap compared with new, more environmentally friendly alternatives," Foshee says. "In this kind of economic climate when virtually all crops and commodities are having a hard time making a profit, this will pose an increased burden on farmers. "

EPA’s decision to restrict these chemicals has drawn fire from some farm groups.

American Farm Bureau President Dean Kleckner believes the decision is driven more by "political pandering" than hard scientific data. Kleckner contends EPA’s decision is a "political event timed to coincide with the Aug. 3 deadline for reassessing many pesticide uses under the Food Quality Protection Act."

Kleckner believes EPA is putting restrictions on these chemicals before establishing scientific criteria that will guide them in future decisions.

Methyl-Parathion and Azinphos-Methyl are part of a family of insecticides known as organo-phosphates. Organo-phosphates are the first group of insecticides EPA will assess under the requirements of the Food Quality Protection Act.
 
 

SOURCE; Dr. Wheeler Foshee, Extension pesticide education specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, (334) 844-5509.