For immediate release, July 10, 2008 Washington, DC – After
three years of deliberation, US Environmental Protection Agency
today proposed new rules for five highly toxic fumigant
pesticides.* Environmental health, community and farmworker
groups say the rules, while substantially better than the past,
still fall short of protecting people, workers and the
environment. “So many people, including my family and friends,
have been poisoned by these pesticides. I was hoping EPA would
do more to protect farmworkers and rural communities,” says
Teresa DeAnda, a resident of Earlimart, CA from Californians for
Pesticide Reform. Among the most toxic chemicals used in
agriculture today, fumigants are gases or liquids that are
injected or dripped into the soil to sterilize a field before
planting. Even with plastic tarps on the soil, fumigants escape
from the soil and drift through the air into schools, homes,
parks and playgrounds. Strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, carrots
and potatoes are some of the major crops for wh