Dramatic Increase in Dangerous Pesticide Use in California

Use of pesticides that cause cancer increased 129% in California between 1991 and 1995 according to a report released this week by the Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) and Californians for Pesticide Reform, a coalition of public interest groups. More than 6.5 pounds of pesticide active ingredients are used per person per year in California -- more than double the national rate of 3.1 pounds per capita.

For the study, PANNA staff collected official state and federal data on pesticide use, agricultural production and toxicology of particular pesticides. They then combined these data to produce a comprehensive view of pesticide use in California from 1991 to 1995.

The report shows that total reported pesticide use in the state increased 31% during this time period, rising from 161 million to 212 million pounds of pesticide active ingredient. Approximately 90% of all reported pesticide use occurs in production agriculture -- agricultural pesticide use increased 37% between 1991 and 1995. The increases in use were not due to increases in planted acreage, since according to data published by the state of California, acreage statewide has remained nearly constant during this time period. Instead, intensity of agricultural pesticide use increased 35%, from an average of 18 to nearly 25 pounds per harvested acre.

During this period, use of acutely toxic systemic nerve poisons increased 52% to almost nine million pounds. (These pesticides disrupt the enzymes that control the nervous system.) The total volume of carcinogens, reproductive hazards, endocrine disruptors, 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.

Pesticides are applied much more heavily on some crops than others. California strawberries are grown on only about 23,000 acres, yet farmers use over seven million pounds of pesticides on the crop each year. Strawberries are the most intensively treated crop in the state, receiving an average of over 300 pounds of pesticide active ingredient per acre per year.

Eight adjacent countries in the San Joaquin Valley, where intensive farming is a primary land use, account for 60% of reported pesticide use in the state. Heavy pesticide use also occurs in California's other major agricultural areas: the Central Coast, the Southern Deserts, the North Coast wine country and the Sacramento Valley. In addition, there is a large but unreported use of pesticides in homes and gardens.

PANNA and CPR criticized California Governor Wilson and the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for keeping the public in the dark about pesticide use trends and for not addressing the problem. According to the groups, reducing pesticide use requires regulation of pesticides, research into and implementation of alternatives, and an informed public with access to information about pesticide use. They called on the state to honor the public's right to know about release of toxic materials into the environment. The state should also improve public access to data on pesticide use by producing annual reports summarizing pesticide use in the state over time by crop, geographic region and by toxicity of pesticides, and by making data more accessible and affordable. They also called on the Governor and DPR to launch a statewide effort to reduce pesticide use.

Veda Federighi, a spokeswoman for the Department of Pesticide Regulation, responded by calling the report "bogus science." "The most important component of risk is not toxicity, it's exposure, and we regulate so that exposures to chemicals are at acceptable levels," Federighi said. Ralph Lightstone, an attorney with California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, disagreed. "If you spray a lot more, then there's bound to be more exposure," he said. "I think a lot of the chemicals in use today can't be used safely . . . We should use less toxic materials."

"Rising Toxic Tide" is the second in a series of reports to be released by Californians for Pesticide Reform, a statewide coalition of over 50 organizations ranging from statewide health, consumer and environmental non-profits to volunteer community groups.

Source: Rising Toxic Tide, Pesticide Action Network North America, 1997. San Francisco Examiner, September 18, 1997. San Jose Mercury, September 18, 1997.

10/27/97