California poised to ok pesticide so toxic chemists are afraid to handle it.

[Liberal_in_LA]

State poised to OK supertoxic pesticide
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Farmers planting strawberries and other crops in California will soon have to contend with cancer-causing poison instead of bugs, worms and fungus if regulators get their wish.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has proposed registering methyl iodide as a pesticide in California to the dismay of scientists and environmental groups, who say it is so toxic that even chemists are reluctant to handle it.

The chemical will become legal for growers to use after a 60-day comment period ending June 29 unless there is some kind of public outcry.

"This is one of the most egregious pesticides out there," said Sarah Aird, the state field organizer for Californians for Pesticide Reform, a coalition of watchdog groups opposed to the use of potentially harmful chemicals. "It is really, really toxic. It is actually used in the laboratory to induce cancer cells."


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/02/BAP71DG7KH.DTL#ixzz0pjPGBYvM

[Angry Dragon]

1. There sure are a lot of ignorant people in government.

[troubledamerican]

12. Why do you feel they're "ignorant" and not complicit?

[Frustratedlady]

2. Where do we sign? I eat a ton of strawberries. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. Next year's crop will be a little bit tastier

[Big Blue Marble]

4. Consider organic berries,

otherwise you are exposing yourself to many pesticides already. Pesticides that
are in the berries and cannot be washed off.

http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=ST

[Frustratedlady]

10. Thanks for the link.

I try to eat organic as much as possible, but we aren't in an area where much is grown. My husband and I grew hydroponic tomatoes without pesticides and got spoiled with the quality. I belong to an organic coop, but it is 90 miles away.

The strawberries don't even sound good anymore.

[Luminous Animal]

5. You may already be eating this chemical. It has been registered in Florida,

a major strawberry producer, for a couple of years. The EPA allowed the states to register it in 2007 and since then it has been registered in 47 states. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation claims that 12 states are currently using it but finding out which ones has not been easy.

[catgirl]

9. Strawberries absorb pesticides more than most fruit

Organic strawberries are the only safe ones. I grow my own. They're so easy to grow
they're considered weeds by many gardeners.

[killbotfactory]

6. They're only going to poison the farmers who are exposed to it

And we all know they are mostly illegals who give up all rights when they cross the border so it doesn't matter. :puke:

[underseasurveyor]

7. I'm about ready to rip my hair out..

:nuke:
I fucking hatex( these people!
I mean really, how can anybody in their right mind think this is a good idea?


Go organic, you'll feel so much better.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

8. IIRC, the only issue is to farm employees handling it.

Assuming they disregard safety protocols. Not a danger to the consumer.

[Lagomorph]

11. Shit happens....

I got a dose of poison in the 70's, when a hose broke and doused two of us with a nerve toxin. Even though is was extremely diluted, we both ended up in the hospital.

We had done the loading operation hundreds of times without a problem, the hose was state of the art with 3/8" thick walls and aircraft quality couplings. It should have easily taken 100 times the pressure, but nope, not that day.

[Lucian]

13. This is why I get organically grown produce.

I don't want to eat shit covered in cancer-causing pesticides, thank you very much.

And if there's no public outcry over this, this country is in a sadder state than I previously thought.

[lonestarnot]

14. Is this another example of a little to cozie cozy?

[eppur_se_muova]

15. It's methyl iodide (aka iodomethane), for those who are wondering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/iodomethane