Methyl iodide would replace methyl bromide, which is being phased out

By WES SANDER
Capital Press

SACRAMENTO -- Farmworkers and activists rallied in Sacramento Monday, Dec. 14, against California's pending registration of the fumigant methyl iodide.

State officials are considering methyl iodide to replace methyl bromide, which has been phased out since the early 1990s under international agreement due to its ozone-depleting properties.

"It is not good science, and it's not good agriculture, to replace one bad actor with another bad actor," said state Assemblyman Bill Monning, D-Carmel, who chairs the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee.

California's Department of Pesticide Regulation has commissioned a peer review of the science supporting registration. The agency has said its decision could hinge on the review, conducted by University of California scientists.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registered the pesticide in 2007. Every state except California, Washington and New York has since followed suit. Some have expressed alarm at the prospect of the chemical being applied to farm fields.

However, agriculture advocates argue that methyl iodide is safe if used properly.

"It is the worst fumigant we could possibly even think of registering in California," said Martha Guzman-Aceves, a legislative advocate with California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, at the sparsely attended rally.