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Urge DPR to stop the backpedaling on regulations to reduce pesticide smog!

On November 28th the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) released new draft regulations to address smog-forming pesticides. The draft regulations seriously backpedal on DPR’s promise to reduce smog-forming pesticides in the five air basins across the state- especially in the San Joaquin Valley. DPR is cheating Californians out of their right to breathe clean air and avoiding real use reductions of smog-forming pesticides. Voice your opposition in writing by Jan 15th and in person at the public hearings January 12th in Bakersfield and January 14th in Sacramento.

Take Action Now! Demand DPR to comply fully with the Clean Air Act by reducing the use of smog-forming pesticides.

Subject:

Your Letter:

Linda Irokawa-Otani, Regulations Coordinator
Department of Pesticide Regulation
1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015 ?Sacramento, California 95812-4015?

Dear Linda Irokawa-Otani,

I am writing to urge DPR to stop its backpedaling and come up with regulations to reduce the use of volatile organic compound (VOC) pollution from pesticides. Reducing use is the only guaranteed way of reducing VOC emissions from pesticides.

VOC from pesticides causes smog and fine particle (PM2.5) air pollution and poisons communities with carcinogens and reproductive toxins, yet pesticide polluters have been getting a free ride for over a decade, leaving communities breathing dirty air. Everyone needs to do their fair share to clean up our air.  The Department of Pesticide Regulations needs to implement strong regulations in the San Joaquin Valley that are consistent with the rest of the state to reduce emissions from Volatile Organic Compound-emitting pesticides by at least 20% based on the 1990 year levels, before the next ozone season (May 2009). Backsliding to 12% violates the EPA approved State Implementation Plan, the Clean Air Act, and leaves Valley residents unprotected from smog-forming pesticides. If DPR breaks its commitment to the San Joaquin Valley, it could easily backslide on regulations elsewhere.

Californians deserve to breathe clean air now! The ongoing extensive use of pesticides that emit VOC is a major threat to the health of Californians. Air pollution from smog and PM2.5 damages lung tissue, exacerbates asthma, reduces lung capacity, increases respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions, causes premature death, and increases school and work absenteeism. The health costs for San Joaquin Valley residents from the failure to meet federal smog and PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards – to which VOCs contribute – is $5.7 billion each year, or $1,600 per person.  Many poor Valley residents lack access to health care, which places an additional and unfair burden on those who can least afford to bear the burden of air pollution and its health consequences.

It is long past the time for DPR to take real steps in reducing the use of all fumigant and non-fumigant VOC-emitting pesticides in agriculture, so our families can breathe the clean air to which they are entitled and avoid the billions in health costs.  Agriculture, just like everyone else, has to do its fair share to clean up the air.

California Department of Pesticide Regulations

Background

Pesticides are one of the largest contributors to smog in the San Joaquin Valley and Ventura County and a major contributor in the Southeast Desert, which includes the Coachella Valley. DPR should prioritize pesticide use reduction because pesticides are highly toxic, causing many mass farm worker and community poisonings, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) from pesticides contribute to smog and fine particulate matter formation. The only guaranteed way to reduce smog-forming, particulate matter-forming, and toxic emissions from pesticides is to reduce pesticide use.

Ozone pollution – commonly called smog – is a summer time pollutant and damages lung tissue, exacerbates asthma, reduces lung capacity, increases respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions, and increases school and work absenteeism. Fine particulate matter is a wintertime pollutant that exacerbates asthma and causes death in people with heart or lung disease. The failure to meet smog and fine particle standards costs Valley residents at least $5.7 billon each year in health costs, or $1,600 per person. Agriculture – just like everyone else – needs to do its fair share to clean up the air.

Regulations to reduce the VOC from pesticides are long overdue. In the mid 1990’s, California regulators promised to adopt regulations that would reduce VOC from pesticides by 20% below 1990 levels in five air basins by 2005. But the regulations did not keep their promise, leaving Californians to breathe polluted air.

The proposed regulations do little to change the status quo. In particular, they do not mandate pesticide use reduction. Instead, they allow growers to use the same amount of pesticides or even more by only changing product formulations and application techniques. The benefit from this approach is far less certain than real pesticide use reduction.They do not meet the 20% reduction in VOC promised in a 1996 commitment that EPA approved. DPR wants to break its promise to Californians by proposing to cut back VOC from pesticides by only 12% in the San Joaquin Valley. This violates federal law in the EPA-approved State Implementation Plan, the collection of rules and regulations that are supposed to achieve clean air for Californians, and the Clean Air Act.

We must voice strong opposition to this backpedaling and promise-breaking now and demand that DPR adopt strong regulations to protect people’s health. Californians deserve to breathe clean air.

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Pesticide Action Network promotes healthy communities and a safe, fair and clean food system. We combine grassroots science with public will campaigns to replace highly hazardous pesticides with ecologically sound, socially just solutions.

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