OLYMPIA -- The Washington State Department of Agriculture announced that the controversial new pesticide Midas won't be used in the state [for now]. After reviewing science associated with the pesticide's main chemical component, methyl iodide, the department invited the pesticide manufacturer, Arysta LifeScience, to withdraw its application for registration.
The department cites concerns raised during the scientific analysis conducted by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, together with comments from Washington health and natural resource agencies. In a letter to Arysta LifeScience, Erik Johansen, Special Pesticide Registration Program Coordinator for the Washington Department of Agriculture stated, "WSDA is concerned that the proposed use of Midas products labeled in Washington could cause unreasonable adverse effects on human health and the environment." Specific concerns stated in the letter include: potential for groundwater contamination; lack of data related to the pesticide's ability to damage brain development; and cancer risk.
Dr. Susan Kegley, consulting chemist with Pesticide Action Network said, "We're so glad Washington did the right thing. Let's hope California follows the science, too." California is expected to make its decision on methyl iodide during the coming month. Martha Dina Arguello, Director of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Los Angeles, "As Governor Schwarzenegger enters his final months of office, it's hard to imagine he would allow more cancer, more miscarriages, contaminated drinking water, and a good chance of more developmental brain damage to be his legacy."
Methyl iodide is promoted by the pesticide industry as a replacement for methyl bromide, which is due to be phased out because it depletes the ozone layer. While methyl iodide does not deplete the ozone layer, it is more toxic to humans and likely to contaminate ground water. Health effects include late-term miscarriages, potential to cause damage to developing brains, and cancer. Methyl iodide is so reliably carcinogenic that scientists use it to induce cancer cells in the lab.
Despite significant public and scientific concern leading up the 2007 federal decision, U.S. EPA registered methyl iodide in the final days of the Bush administration. Since then, controversy has surrounded the pesticide. New York was the first state to decline to register methyl iodide, Washington is the second, and opponents hope California will be the third. Florida approved the chemical with additional use restrictions.
Methyl iodide is promoted by the largest privately-held pesticide company in the world, Arysta LifeScience. The Tokyo-based corporation has recently invested significant resources in lobbying and a communications campaign in California in order to secure registration in one of the most lucrative potential markets in the nation. If approved, methyl iodide would be used as a soil fumigant in the state's strawberry fields, where it would applied as a gas at up to 125 lbs per acre. Communities adjacent to, and farmworkers who work in the strawberry fields where methyl iodide would be used have joined over 50 imminent scientists in a national effort to block registration of what has been characterized as "one of the most toxic chemicals on earth."
