Summary
[Marilyn Lynds-Dismukes] and her neighbors in Moss Landing thought they had it bad last year when a farmer planned to pump methyl bromide into the soil outside their homes. Methyl bromide, a fumigant used to kill parasites and weeds, has been proven to cause neurological damage and reproductive harm. But now, instead of this dangerous chemical, Lynds-Dismukes and her family could be breathing a pesticide cocktail of telone, a likely carcinogen, and chloropicrin, a tear-gas-like toxin that can cause vomiting.
On July 3 [Steve Rodoni] received the green light from the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner to inject the pesticides into the soil over a three-month period, starting July 15. Telone and chloropicrin would be used on the 13 acres of crops directly across the street from Moss Landing Heights. A mixture of methyl bromide and chloropicrin would be applied to the rest. The use of less methyl bromide and assurances by the Agricultural Commissioner haven't made residents feel any safer.In his decision to uphold the pesticide permit, Ag Commissioner Eric Lauritzen said Rodoni will follow all state regulations to mitigate any exposure to off-gassing. Any drift that could occur during the application is very unlikely since the fumigants will be injected at least 10 inches into the ground, Lauritzen says. "In evaluating proposed pesticide applications our most important priority is human safety, and we do not compromise on that," he says.See the full content of this document
Extract
Pesticides Get Green Light
Marilyn Lynds-Dismukes and her neighbors in Moss Landing thought they had it bad last year when a farmer planned to pump methyl bromide into the soil outside their homes. Methyl bromide, a fumigant used to kill parasites and weeds, has been proven to cause neurological ...
See the full content of this document
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