Fwd: Fw: Four Attorneys General File Federal Lawsuit to Require Full Pesticid...

[Guest guest]

I AGREE WITH THIS SUGGESTION. AS A TOXICOLOGIST, I CAN TELL YOU THAT MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THE " INERT INGREDIENTS " ARE MORE TOXIC THAT THE PESTICIDE ACTIVE INGREDIENT AND THE ACTIVE MAY BE 0.25 % OR UP TO 1.0%....WHILE THE " INERT " MAY BE XYLENE AT 99%.

DR. RICHARD LIPSEY, TOXICOLOGIST

Lipsey Resume--2001(www.richardlipsey.com)

In a message dated 2/22/01 10:38:02 AM Eastern Standard Time, redhen@... writes:

Subj: Fw: Four Attorneys General File Federal Lawsuit to Require Full Pesticide Labeling

Date: 2/22/01 10:38:02 AM Eastern Standard Time

From: redhen@... (Laurie Enger)

Reply-to: Laurie@... (Laurie Enger)

alexpulaski@... ( Pulaski)

CC: Trimper1@..., fade2blk@... ( ), Rllipsey87@..., ksutherland@... ( Sutherland), breetheasy@... (K.M. Weeks), JimMoss@... (Jim Moss), sam-1trust@... (Jack Thrasher)

FYI,

Best to all,

Laurie

> Please ask your state Attorney General to join

> this suit if possible or file a similar one of

> their own.

> O'Nan

> =====================================

> > Press Releases

> > > Department of Law

> 120 Broadway

> New York, NY 10271

> Department of Law

> The State Capitol

> Albany, NY 12224

>> > STATES SEEK LABELING OF ALL PESTICIDE INGREDIENTS

> Four Attorneys General File Federal Lawsuit to

> Require Full Pesticide Labeling

> > New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer,

> Connecticut Attorney General Blumenthal,

> Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly and

> Alaska Attorney General Bruce Botelho today sued

> the federal Environmental Protection Agency for

> failing to act on an essential public health

> petition relating to pesticides labeling.

> > The Attorneys General requested three years ago

> that the federal agency require pesticide

> manufacturers to disclose all ingredients in

> pesticides on product labels. Currently, so-called

> "inert" ingredients - which make up as much as

> 99-percent of many over-the-counter pesticides -

> are kept secret and are not listed on product

> labels. Hundreds of the 2,300 "inert" ingredients

> registered with the Environmental Protection

> Agency (EPA) are known to be harmful to human

> health.

> > "Consumers have a right to know about all the

> ingredients in the pesticides they use around

> their homes," said Spitzer. "Full ingredient

> disclosure will allow consumers to make informed

> decisions about which products to use or not use.

> Federal regulations rightly require detailed label

> information on all ingredients in food, cosmetics

> and other products. The same standard should also

> apply to pesticides, which are toxic products that

> are widely used in our homes, schools and directly

> on our food."

> > Connecticut Attorney General Blumenthal

> said: "The feds simply have been irresponsible in

> abdicating their moral and legal authority.

> Keeping consumers ignorant about these ingredients

> is unconscionable and intolerable. In products

> used around the house, within easy touch and taste

> of children, disclosure of these poisons can

> literally be a matter of life or death, whether

> they are called 'active' or 'inert.'"

> > Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly said:

> "Most people would equate the term 'inert' with

> harmless. But allowing pesticide manufacturers to

> label risky chemicals that way is dangerously

> misleading. The fact is that pesticides contain

> potentially dangerous ingredients, and consumers

> have a right to know what those ingredients are to

> protect them from unnecessary risk."

> > Janice Adair, Director of the Division of

> Environmental Health in Alaska, said: "Requiring

> that the labels on consumer products clearly state

> the ingredients protects public health and safety.

> Pesticides in general cause a great deal of public

> concern, and the fact that some of the most toxic

> ingredients are not listed on the label is

> unconscionable."

> > The EPA requires that pesticide labels disclose

> only the product's active ingredients; that is,

> those toxic materials that kill the insect or weed

> or other target organism. However, pesticides also

> contain many other ingredients, called "inert,"

> which deliver the active ingredient to the target.

> Many of these may also be toxic, but the

> government does not require them to be identified

> on pesticide product labels. States are pre-empted

> by the federal government from requiring such

> labeling for pesticides.

> > A number of inert ingredients, such as toluene and

> ethylbenzene, are identified as "hazardous" under

> other federal laws, such as the Clean Water Act,

> the Clean Air Act and the Superfund Law. Many

> inert ingredients are known or suspected to pose

> serious health risks, including cancer, central

> nervous system disorders, liver and kidney damage

> and birth defects, as well as a variety of short-

> term health and ecological impacts.

> > Three years ago, New York, Connecticut, Alaska,

> Massachusetts and other states, submitted a

> federal petition to the EPA to require full

> product labeling of inert ingredients. Rather than

> responding to the petition, the EPA referred the

> matter to two advisory committees, neither of

> which have a definite timetable to resolve this

> pressing issue. After three years, no

> recommendations have been made to EPA and none are

> expected in the foreseeable future.

> > "It is clear that the process EPA has put in place

> is not going anywhere and should not be a

> substitute for the agency ruling on a

> three-year-old petition that is very important to

> protect public health," said New York Attorney

> General Spitzer.

> > The lawsuit filed by the four Attorneys General

> charges that the EPA has unreasonably and

> illegally delayed action on a vital health matter

> and seeks a decision on the three-year-old

> petition within 60 days.

> > A similar suit was filed in October 2000 by the

> Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to

> Pesticides. Norma Grier, executive director of the

> organization, said: "This action by the Attorneys

> General helps consumers across the country fight

> for the right to know about what's in these

> dangerous products."

> > The Attorneys General filed their lawsuit today in

> U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

> > For more background information on inert

> ingredients, see the New York Attorney General's

> website at: www.oag.state.ny.us for a May 2000

> report, "The Secret Ingredients in Pesticides:

> Reducing the Risk."

> > The lawsuit is being handled by New York Assistant

> Attorney General Kaufmann, Chief Scientist

> Surgan, PhD, Connecticut Assistant

> Attorney General Janet , Massachusetts

> Assistant Attorney General Goldberg, and

> Alaska Assistant Attorney General

> Kennedy.

FYI,

Best to all,

Laurie

> Please ask your state Attorney General to join

> this suit if possible or file a similar one of

> their own.

> O'Nan

> =====================================

>

> Press Releases

>

>

> Department of Law

> 120 Broadway

> New York, NY 10271

> Department of Law

> The State Capitol

> Albany, NY 12224

>

>

> For More Information:

> 518-473-5525

> 860-808-5324

> 617-727-2543

> 907-269-7644 For Immediate Release

> February 16, 2001

>

>

> STATES SEEK LABELING OF ALL PESTICIDE INGREDIENTS

> Four Attorneys General File Federal Lawsuit to

> Require Full Pesticide Labeling

>

> New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer,

> Connecticut Attorney General Blumenthal,

> Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly and

> Alaska Attorney General Bruce Botelho today sued

> the federal Environmental Protection Agency for

> failing to act on an essential public health

> petition relating to pesticides labeling.

>

> The Attorneys General requested three years ago

> that the federal agency require pesticide

> manufacturers to disclose all ingredients in

> pesticides on product labels. Currently, so-called

> " inert " ingredients - which make up as much as

> 99-percent of many over-the-counter pesticides -

> are kept secret and are not listed on product

> labels. Hundreds of the 2,300 " inert " ingredients

> registered with the Environmental Protection

> Agency (EPA) are known to be harmful to human

> health.

>

> " Consumers have a right to know about all the

> ingredients in the pesticides they use around

> their homes, " said Spitzer. " Full ingredient

> disclosure will allow consumers to make informed

> decisions about which products to use or not use.

> Federal regulations rightly require detailed label

> information on all ingredients in food, cosmetics

> and other products. The same standard should also

> apply to pesticides, which are toxic products that

> are widely used in our homes, schools and directly

> on our food. "

>

> Connecticut Attorney General Blumenthal

> said: " The feds simply have been irresponsible in

> abdicating their moral and legal authority.

> Keeping consumers ignorant about these ingredients

> is unconscionable and intolerable. In products

> used around the house, within easy touch and taste

> of children, disclosure of these poisons can

> literally be a matter of life or death, whether

> they are called 'active' or 'inert.' "

>

> Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly said:

> " Most people would equate the term 'inert' with

> harmless. But allowing pesticide manufacturers to

> label risky chemicals that way is dangerously

> misleading. The fact is that pesticides contain

> potentially dangerous ingredients, and consumers

> have a right to know what those ingredients are to

> protect them from unnecessary risk. "

>

> Janice Adair, Director of the Division of

> Environmental Health in Alaska, said: " Requiring

> that the labels on consumer products clearly state

> the ingredients protects public health and safety.

> Pesticides in general cause a great deal of public

> concern, and the fact that some of the most toxic

> ingredients are not listed on the label is

> unconscionable. "

>

> The EPA requires that pesticide labels disclose

> only the product's active ingredients; that is,

> those toxic materials that kill the insect or weed

> or other target organism. However, pesticides also

> contain many other ingredients, called " inert, "

> which deliver the active ingredient to the target.

> Many of these may also be toxic, but the

> government does not require them to be identified

> on pesticide product labels. States are pre-empted

> by the federal government from requiring such

> labeling for pesticides.

>

> A number of inert ingredients, such as toluene and

> ethylbenzene, are identified as " hazardous " under

> other federal laws, such as the Clean Water Act,

> the Clean Air Act and the Superfund Law. Many

> inert ingredients are known or suspected to pose

> serious health risks, including cancer, central

> nervous system disorders, liver and kidney damage

> and birth defects, as well as a variety of short-

> term health and ecological impacts.

>

> Three years ago, New York, Connecticut, Alaska,

> Massachusetts and other states, submitted a

> federal petition to the EPA to require full

> product labeling of inert ingredients. Rather than

> responding to the petition, the EPA referred the

> matter to two advisory committees, neither of

> which have a definite timetable to resolve this

> pressing issue. After three years, no

> recommendations have been made to EPA and none are

> expected in the foreseeable future.

>

> " It is clear that the process EPA has put in place

> is not going anywhere and should not be a

> substitute for the agency ruling on a

> three-year-old petition that is very important to

> protect public health, " said New York Attorney

> General Spitzer.

>

> The lawsuit filed by the four Attorneys General

> charges that the EPA has unreasonably and

> illegally delayed action on a vital health matter

> and seeks a decision on the three-year-old

> petition within 60 days.

>

> A similar suit was filed in October 2000 by the

> Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to

> Pesticides. Norma Grier, executive director of the

> organization, said: " This action by the Attorneys

> General helps consumers across the country fight

> for the right to know about what's in these

> dangerous products. "

>

> The Attorneys General filed their lawsuit today in

> U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

>

> For more background information on inert

> ingredients, see the New York Attorney General's

> website at: www.oag.state.ny.us for a May 2000

> report, " The Secret Ingredients in Pesticides:

> Reducing the Risk. "

>

> The lawsuit is being handled by New York Assistant

> Attorney General Kaufmann, Chief Scientist

> Surgan, PhD, Connecticut Assistant

> Attorney General Janet , Massachusetts

> Assistant Attorney General Goldberg, and

> Alaska Assistant Attorney General

> Kennedy.

> --------------------------------------------------

> ------------------------------

>

>

> E.M.T. O'Nan

> Director

> Protect All Children's Environment

> 396 Sugar Cove Road

> n, North Carolina 28752

> Phone: (828) 724 4221

> Fax: (828) 724 4177

> Email: pace@...

> Website: http://www.main.nc.us/pace

>

>