Stop the EPA from Removing Restrictions on Pesticides
ISSUE:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to change the labels for pesticides used to control adult mosquitoes. These label changes will weaken the basic regulations that protect our waterways, aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, including pollinators, and other animals from these chemicals.
For more background and a sample letter on the issue go to:
http://www.xerces.org/mosquitospray_actionalert_7-13-04.htm
TAKE ACTION: Write EPA by July 27
Tell the EPA not to make changes to adult mosquito pesticide labels, because the changes will result in harming, not improving, the public health and the
environment. Ask the EPA to:
(1) Keep all label protections for water bodies. Pesticides should not be sprayed over water unless they are proven safe for all aquatic organisms. Buffer zones should be mandated for pesticides that are toxic to aquatic life.
(2) Keep bee labeling to protect pollinators, most importantly bees and butterflies, from being needlessly harmed. Pollinators are vital to life as we know it. They are responsible for much of the food we eat, not to mention food for wild animals. .
(3) Fully disclose all aquatic species that may be impacted by the pesticide, whether the animals have been specifically tested or if evidence from related species indicates that they may be harmed by specific pesticides. Species lists on labels should not be limited only to groups that have been subjected to tests on that particular pesticide.
(4) Mandate consultation with state and local agencies before spraying to assure that all regulations and laws are being followed and that there are no at-risk species, including invertebrates, in the area that might be harmed by spraying.
(5) Not give a "blank check" permitting pesticide spraying at any time, in any place when there is a perceived "public health threat." After all this time living with mosquitoes, mosquito abatement districts and vector control offices should have plans in place to control mosquito levels using techniques and
chemicals with the least impact on human health and the environment.
SEND COMMENTS TO EPA ON OR BEFORE JULY 27, 2004
By e-mail: [log in to unmask], Attention: Docket ID Number OPP-2004-0018
By mail: Public Information and Records Integrity Branch (7502C), Office of Pesticide Programs, EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460-0001,
Attention: Docket ID Number OPP-2004-0018.
For more information:
EPA Federal Register Notice:
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2004/April/Day-28/p9621.htm
EPA's Recommendations:
http://www.epa.gov/PR_Notices/draftpr2004-XX.pdf
Beyond Pesticides factsheet:
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/MOSQUITO/DOCUMENTS/WNVfactsheet7_8_04.pdf
Note: the proposed changes would apply only to products labeled for wide-area application of adulticides (not larvicides) by ground or aerial equipment, typically as Ultra Low Volume sprays or fogs, and not to home and garden use products that may list mosquitoes on the label.
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Matthew Shepherd
Director, Pollinator Conservation Program
________________________________________________________
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
4828 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97215, USA
Tel: 503-232 6639 Fax: 503-233 6794
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: www.xerces.org
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