Steve Tvedten of Get Set, Inc.'s email to Lyndon Hawkins of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation on the Risk/Benefit formula for pesticide use.

Questions have been asked of the California Department of Pesticide Control since Fontana Unified School District declined to consider a pesticide free IPM program because of the Department of Agriculture's opinion about only utilizing registered pesticides to eliminate pests.  The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has remained silent and not responded to these issues:

02/12/99

Lyndon Hawkins,

When the risk portion of the Risk/Benefit formula increases and the "benefit" decreases, when do you unregister your "registered" poisons?

The following table clearly shows an ever increasing intensity of use of dangerous ("registered") pesticide poisons needed to "control" pests in California. While the amount of harvested acreage did not grow during this period, intensity of pesticide use increased over 35%, from 18 to more than 24 pounds of active poison ingredients per harvested acre (see table below). Furthermore, sales of fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and miticides increased 400% in the four years from 1991 to 1994.
 

Obviously The Risk of "Registered" Poisons in California is increasing with no increase in "benefit".

PANNA'S research found that use of the most toxic pesticides also rose dramatically between 1991 and 1995. More than 23 million pounds of cancer causing pesticides were used in 1995, accounting for at least 11% of the year's total. Between 1991 and 1995, use of cancer causing pesticides increased 129%, almost entirely from the increased use of nine pesticides: captan, chlorothalonil, creosote, 1,3-dichloropropene, iprodione, mancozeb, maneb, metam-sodium and propargite. Metam-sodium use alone increased three-fold between 1991 and 1995, to more than 15 million pounds.

Use of acutely toxic nerve poisons increased 52%, to almost nine million pounds due primarily to increased use of the insecticides carbaryl, chlorpyrifos and diazinon.

Restricted Use pesticides were up 34%, to 48 million pounds in 1995. In this category increases were especially large for the herbicides acrolein, 2,4-D, molinate, paraquat and thiobencarb; the insecticides aldicarb, carbaryl, methamidophos and methomyl; and the fumigants 1,3-dichloropropene and metam sodium.

The total volume of carcinogens, reproductive hazards, endocrine disrupters, Category I highly acute systemic poisons, Category II nerve toxins, and restricted use pesticides increased 32% between 1991 and 1995, and now comprise 72 million pounds or 34% of total reported pesticide use in the state.

Does your risk/"benefit" formula ever bother to take into consideration the ever increasing pest resistance?

The Agribusiness Examiner, Issue #20, 02/11/99, noted: Dr. Stewart Smith, a senior economist for the Congressional Joint Economic Committee examined the economic activity of agribusiness.  Dr. Smith found in part that between 1987 and 1997 the cost to farmers of seeds, fertilizer and agricultural chemicals alone increased 86%. Farmers are now receiving $123 billion for their animal and crop products and they are paying out $185.1 billion in production expenses. Farm income was 31% higher in 1997 than in 1998. No wonder so many farmers are going bankrupt!

Great work on your risk/"benefit" formula - if you keep it up you will not only poison the whole world but you will bankrupt all of the farmers you demand use your "registered" poisons in order to create profits only for the poison "industry".

Mr. Hawkins your "registered" poisons are obviously losing the risk/"benefit" battle in California. My alternatives safely control even "registered" pesticide poison resistant pests without causing cancer and other health problems or pollution.

When will it be legal (in your opinion) to wash your can in California? Do you really still want to pretend your "registered" poisons are safer than, less expensive than (or even work as well as) soap and water in controlling flies and other pests?

Respectfully Stephen Tvedten
 

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