Victory in Pesticide Lawsuit

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Hi all,

On June 9, 2006, as a result of the lawsuit UFW v. EPA, the EPA

announced its decision to phase-out all uses of the pesticide guthion

(also known as azinphos-methyl or AZM). This is one of the

five most acutely toxic pesticides in use today - responsible

for poisoning hundreds of farmworkers. Below is a press release

explaining this decision.

For Immediate Release: June 12, 2006

Contact: Patti Goldman, Earthjustice, 206-343-7340 ex. 32

Nicholson, United Farmworkers of America, 206-255-5774

, Farmworker Justice Fund, 202-783-2628

EPA to phase out pesticide that poisons farmworkers

Lawsuit forces EPA to take action to protect workers

Seattle, WA -- The Environmental Protection Agency has announced

that it will phase out the use of a pesticide that poisons farmworkers.

EPA took the action after as part of a settlement of a lawsuit brought by

farmworkers challenging EPA’s decision to allow continued use of this

pesticide.

“This pesticide has put thousands of workers at risk of serious illness

every year,” said Nicholson of the United Farmworkers of

America. “The phase out is welcome, although it should have come

years ago.”

The pesticide, azinphos-methyl (“AZM”), is a highly toxic organophosphate

neurotoxin. Organophosphate pesticides, derived from nerve agents

used during World War II, attack the human nervous system. Exposure

can cause dizziness, vomiting, seizures, paralysis, loss of mental

function, and death. Farmworker families and communities are

exposed to organophosphates through “take-home” exposures on clothing,

cars, and skin.

Under federal law, EPA decides which pesticides may be used throughout

the United States. In 2001, EPA had found that AZM poses

unacceptable risks to workers, but it allowed the pesticide to continue

to be used for four more years because less toxic alternatives were more

costly. Farmworker advocates had challenged that decision in federal

court in Seattle because EPA failed to account for the costs of poisoning

workers, exposing children, and polluting rivers and streams to the

detriment of endangered species. The farmworker groups bringing the

lawsuit were United Farm Workers of America (“UFW”), Sea Mar Community

Health Centers, Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (“PCUN”), Beyond

Pesticides, and Frente Indígena Oaxaqueño Binacional. As a

result of the lawsuit, EPA committed to reconsider whether to ban

AZM, and on June 9, 2006, it announced its decision to phase-out AZM use

completely within four years.

In its proposed decision, EPA would phase out all uses of AZM by 2010

with some uses phased out by 2007. The decision would also

eliminate aerial spraying, require 100 foot buffers around water bodies,

reduce application rates, require buffers around buildings and occupied

dwellings, and require medical monitoring of workers entering fields

sprayed by AZM.

“It is outrageous that EPA allowed continued use of this pesticide

knowing that it would expose farmworkers to unacceptable risks of

pesticide poisonings,” said Patti Goldman, an attorney for

Earthjustice. “Since growers have already had four years to shift

to other pest controls, there is no reason to subject workers and their

communities to more poisonings for another four years.”

AZM is used primarily to kill insects on orchard crops such as apples,

cherries, pears, preaches and nectarines. The highest uses occur in

Washington, Oregon, California, Michigan, Georgia, New York, New Jersey

and Pennsylvania.

“EPA had turned its back on the men, women, and children who are

threatened by an extremely hazardous pesticide that should be replaced

with new safer alternatives,” said , attorney for the

Farmworker Justice. “It is time to make that shift now.”

###

For further information, please visit these websites:

¿ Earthjustice:

http://www.earthjustice.org/campaign/display.html?ID=9

¿ Farmworker Justice:

http://www.fwjustice.org/

Deputy Director

Farmworker Justice Fund, Inc.

1010 Vermont Avenue N.W.

Suite 915

Washington, DC 20005

202-783-2628 Voice

202-783-2561 Fax

www.fwjustice.org

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