Environment and Agriculture
EPA Says It Will Ban Orchardists’ Pesticide…Eventually
By Dan Richardson, 6-19-06
The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it will ban one of the most commonly used pesticides in the Northwest, azinphos methyl, or AZM. AZM, often sold as Guthion, poses known health risks to farmworkers — so much danger that is even could, allegedly, kill some highly exposed farm workers with names like Jose and Antonio who enter orchards recently sprayed with the stuff.
And, in Oregon, most are — something like three-quarters of all apple orchards, for instance, reports The Oregonian.
So the EPA stepped to ban it...just as soon as somone gathered data and filed a lawsuit. Springing into action, EPA envirocrats said they’d ban AZM — four years from now.
The someday ban and related rules proposed are published in the federal register, which invites comments for the next two months.
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