February  2002

Pesticide Potpourri

  • On January 15, a Florida court ruled that a law letting the state remove any citrus tree found near a citrus canker infestation is constitutional, but that crews must get warrants before searching private property for signs of the disease. The opinion struck down a lower court ruling that the searches and destruction of citrus trees violate the rights of homeowners. An attorney for FDACS said the ruling supports the science behind the state's program which is premised on the belief that citrus canker is best contained by destroying trees within 1,900 feet of an outbreak. (UF/IFAS Pest Alert, 1/23/03).
  • On December 23, 2002, FDACS Commissioner Charles Bronson announced the arrest of an illegal pest control operator in Broward County. The single person was doing business as “A Flea Attack.” The case was triggered by consumer complaints about the company doing an inadequate job and failing to respond to follow-up calls. The company operated in a manner in which the operator could not be directly contacted. An answering service both accepted incoming calls and set up appointments for the operator. The FDACS Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement set up an appointment with the service, and arrested the operator when he showed up and performed a pest control application. The operator was charged with operating a pest control company without a license, which is a second degree misdemeanor. FDACS encourages consumers to call the help line at 1 800 435-7352 to determine whether a pest control company is licensed and check its complaint history. (The CPCO Advantage, January, 2003). 
  • The EPA is accepting applications for grants that can be used to fund innovative ways to educate the public about the environment. The Agency funds environmental education projects that focus on educating teachers, students or the general public about human health problems from environmental pollution; improving teaching skills for educators, typically through workshops; building state or local capability to develop and deliver environmental education programs; or promoting environmental careers among students. The program also encourages projects that educate members of a community through a community-based organization, or educate the general public through print, film, broadcast, or other media to be more environmentally conscious and make environmentally responsible decisions. Schools, universities, not-for-profit organizations, tribal education agencies, and state and local governments are all eligible to apply for the grants. Applications fall into two categories: nationally significant projects costing more than $25,000, and local efforts costing less than $25,000. Grants for the larger amounts are issued by EPA headquarters, while the smaller grants are issued by EPA's regional offices. The EPA gives special encouragement to local efforts. More information about the grant program and application forms are available at: http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.html (EPA Pesticide Program Update, 1/17/03).
  • Chemical security legislation from Senator Jon Corzine, D-NJ, has been reintroduced in the new 108th Congress and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. As before, the bill would authorize EPA to oversee chemical site security and would require facilities to use "inherently safer technology" to prevent or contain terrorist attacks. Senator James Inhofe, R-OK, new chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, is expected to offer an alternative bill. (CropLife America Spotlight, 1/17/03).
  • The Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups have filed an appeal with the California Water Resources Control Board to overturn a decision by the state's Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board to exempt 25,000 farmers of irrigated lands from waste discharge standards. Legislation in 1999 stipulated that discharge permit waivers farmers held for 20 years were to expire at the end of 2002, requiring regional boards to either renew exemptions or require discharge permits. (CropLife America Spotlight, 1/17/03).
  • On January 22, Brazilian sources were cited as reporting that Asian rust soy fungus, which damaged 400,000 hectares (988,000 acres) of Brazil's soy area in 2001/02, was found in the new crop in Sao Paulo state, adding, "It was found in a field in Itapeva which was immediately sprayed with fungicide. Yields won't be affected." However, the presence of the outbreak means that spores of the phakospora fungus are in the atmosphere and could be spread by wind to other soy areas, sapping the potential of plants to produce soybeans, Brazil's top farm export earner. Although Sao Paulo is a minor soybean producing state, it is next to Parana, the country's No. 2 soy state. (Reuters, 1/22/03 via AgNet).
  • A survey released on January 22 was cited as finding that American farmers are poised to boost plantings of biotech corn by nearly 10 percent this year amid growing U.S. pressure on the European Union to lift a ban on imports of genetically modified crops. The story says that the straw poll of 340 growers, conducted at the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual meeting, estimated that U.S. 2003 plantings for Roundup® Ready corn will jump by 9.9 percent and Roundup® Ready soybeans by 8.4 percent. B.t. corn plantings posted the only decline among the five major biotech crops included on the survey, falling 3.8 percent. Gene-altered cotton plantings will also rise in 2003, according to the survey. Roundup® Ready cotton plantings will be up 4.0 percent, while B.t. cotton will rise by 5.2 percent. The story cites U.S. Agriculture Department data as saying that 34 percent of corn in 2002 was grown with biotech seeds, up from 26 percent a year earlier. Biotech soybeans rose to 75 percent of the total U.S. soybean crop in 2002, up from 68 percent in the previous year. Biotech cotton accounted for 71 percent of the crop in 2002, up 2 percent from 2001. Nearly half of U.S. farmers polled in the same survey said they were undecided or opposed to growing biotech crops engineered to produce drugs for ailments like diabetes, with 13 percent opposed to planting pharmaceutical crops and half saying they would consider planting the new kinds of crops, which are expected to command premium prices. Another 35 percent of growers said they needed more information about health and safety issues before deciding whether to grow them. (Reuters, 1/22/03 via AgNet).
  • On January 23, Large Scale Biology Corp. was cited as saying its tobacco leaf-produced treatment for a rare genetic disorder, Fabry's disease, has been granted "orphan drug" status by U.S. regulators. The story explains that orphan status, aimed at encouraging research into rare illnesses, grants seven years of market exclusivity to a product and allows a firm to apply for research funding, tax credits, and other benefits. It does not mean that the drug is approved for sale. Company President John Fowler was cited as saying LSBC plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve early-stage clinical trials of its Fabry treatment, which is manufactured in Owensboro, KY, and that if trials are successful, the drug could be commercialized in two to four years. Based in Vacaville, CA, LSBC believes that by growing biotech drugs in plants, in this case a species of tobacco, it can make therapeutic enzymes available to patients at a much lower cost than traditional biotech firms. (Reuters, 1/23/03 via AgNet).
  • Five Terminix offices in MA have agreed to pay $100,000 and change their business practices under terms of a settlement agreement filed at the end of December in that state’s superior court. State officials believe that Terminix was selling customers monthly service contracts for carpenter ant extermination and that workers were spraying home exterior with insecticides during the winter despite evidence that these ants were largely dormant during this time. The company has agreed to stop applying pesticide outdoors for carpenter ants during the winter months and to inform consumers that year-round pesticide control for carpenter ants may not be necessary. (Chemical Regulation Reporter, 1/6/03).
  • A Minnesota company was fined $2,000 for selling a repackaged pesticide over the internet. After receiving a tip from a large commercial pesticide company, the Alaskan Department of Environmental Conservation ordered the mosquito larvacide Gnatrol® from Brew & Grow, Inc., of Fridley, MN, which repackaged the material in a plastic bottle that lacked required warning labels and child-proof packaging. Monitoring internet sales of pesticides is considered important, especially with heightened national security concerns. The case could have been prosecuted criminally, but was pursued instead as a civil violation. (Chemical Regulation Reporter, 1/6/03).

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