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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Common orchard pesticide set for elimination

Gene Johnson Associated Press

SEATTLE – The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to phase out the use of a pesticide that has been used on apples, pears and other crops since the late 1950s, after environmental groups argued that it poisons farmworkers.

Beginning next year, nuts, nursery stocks and Brussels sprouts should no longer be treated with azinphos-methyl – AZM for short, the EPA said in a draft decision Friday. The agency would ban the pesticide’s use on apples, blueberries, cherries, pears and parsley in 2010. The draft is up for public comment for two months.

The decision would also eliminate aerial spraying, require 100-foot buffers around water bodies and require medical monitoring of workers entering fields sprayed by AZM, which is most commonly used in Washington, Oregon, California, Michigan, Georgia, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“This pesticide has put thousands of workers at risk of serious illness every year,” Erik Nicholson, of the United Farmworkers of America, said in a news release Monday. “The phase-out is welcome, although it should have come years ago.”

Farmworker and environmental groups sued the EPA in federal court in Seattle in 2004, arguing that the agency was wrong to continue allowing the use of a pesticide that could cause dizziness, vomiting, seizures, paralysis, loss of mental function and death.

That lawsuit was settled when the EPA agreed to reconsider the use of AZM and another pesticide, phosmet.

AZM is an organophosphate pesticide, derived from nerve agents used during World War II to attack the human nervous system, the environmental law firm Earthjustice said.

Heather Hansen, executive director of Washington Friends of Farms and Forests, said many farms have cut back on use of AZM in recent years, but that it remains an important product for growers, who must ensure their fruits are clear of codling moths and other quarantine pests to ship them into other markets. In some cases, countries won’t accept fruit that has been treated with newer methods, she said.

“The tree fruit industry is always looking for new and better methods of pest control,” Hansen said. “They’ve found a lot over the last few years. None of those are as effective as azinphos-methyl. You need a fail-safe way to protect the crops.”

The EPA is also proposing new guidelines for phosmet use. Currently, workers can enter an area that has been treated with phosmet after three days. That would change to seven days after phosmet treatments of peaches, pears and apples.