The True Cost of Using Methyl Bromide on Florida's Tomatoes

Executive Summary

Tomatoes are a staple of our lives and the nation's third-largest vegetable crop. It's hard to imagine life without them. Yet most of the tomatoes in the United States are grown with the use of a toxic pesticide, methyl bromide, that poses major health hazards and depletes the ozone layer.

Classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a "Category I Acute Toxin," methyl bromide is one of the most deadly pesticides used in agriculture. In the United States, where 46.5 million pounds of methyl bromide are used annually, more of this toxic pesticide is applied than in any other country. Florida, where over a third of fresh market tomatoes in the United States are grown , uses a staggering amount of methyl bromide: an estimated 13.3 million pounds in 1996, of which about 5.4 million pounds were used to fumigate tomato-growing fields.

Although methyl bromide leaves little residue on the tomatoes we eat, it kills just about anything that might attack a tomato plant.

Methyl Bromide Presents a Threat to:

Farmworkers and their families. Direct exposure to methyl bromide can cause eye and skin irritation; damage to the central nervous system, kidneys and lungs, ; and even death. It may also cause birth defects and cancer. Many farmworkers have suffered from overexposure to methyl bromide due to chronically inadequate enforcement of worker protection standards.

Communities located near treated fields. Windborne methyl bromide can travel several miles beyond the application area. People living downwind of fields have experienced burning and itching eyes, some have become sick and others have been evacuated from their homes. At least 20 deaths have been attributed to methyl bromide exposure. In California, it has been estimated that 73,000 children attend schools located within 1.5 miles of methyl bromide-treated fields. In Gasden, Hillsborough and Dade counties in Florida, a land use study has shown that fumigated fields are dangerously close to homes, schools, churches and retirement communities.

The Earth's protective ozone layer: Bromine from methyl bromide is at least 50 times more destructive to the ozone layer per-atom than the chlorine contained in CFCs, a class of chemicals almost completely banned in the United States. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the atmospheric concentrations of bromine still continue to increase and will cause further ozone depletion. Ozone depletion has caused significant increases in ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation reaching the Earth's surface. Increased exposure to UV-B is extremely harmful to humans and causes skin cancer, cataracts and weakening of the immune system.

The state of Florida has much to lose from further depletion of the ozone layer. Estimated mortality rates from melanoma cancer cases in Florida are the second highest in the nation, exceeded only by California. Increased UV-B radiation also kills phytoplankton -- the basis of the food chain for the entire planet -- and causes crop damage.

Extended Phase-Out Deadline from 2001 to 2005

The threat to the ozone layer is so great that the Clean Air Act had included language to phase out production of methyl bromide nationwide by 2001. (Since the initial release of this report Congress acted to extend the phase-out date from 2001 to 2005.} More than 160 nations -- the signatories to the international treaty on ozone protection known as the Montreal Protocol -- have agreed to an international phase-out schedule for methyl bromide.

Despite the hazards of methyl bromide and the existence of safe alternatives, there was strong resistance among some pesticide companies and large agribusiness interests to the 2001 phase-out. Arguing that there are no alternatives to methyl bromide, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, the Florida Farm Bureau, the Crop Protection Coalition, the California Strawberry Commission and Great Lakes Chemical Corporation (a major methyl bromide producer) drove efforts in Congress and in key agricultural states to roll back the ban -- and the Clinton Administration wavered in its commitment to the 2001 phase-out.

However, there are in fact many effective alternatives to this pesticide, and a growing number of tomato producers have successfully adopted these new methods for controlling pests. Integrated pest management (IPM) systems use a combination of methods including solarization, cover crops, resistant varieties, crop rotation and biological controls to protect their crops. These alternatives will keep American growers competitive in the global marketplace.

Continued reliance upon a highly toxic chemical will put growers at a disadvantage as more markets "eco-label" produce to inform consumers of fruits and vegetables grown without the use of toxic pesticides. By working cooperatively with federal and state agencies to phase out the methyl bromide, U.S. growers can take the lead in adopting alternatives that will control pests without the risks associated with continued reliance on hazardous chemicals.

Policy Recommendations

United States, including Florida and California, should remain strongly committed to the rapid phase-out of methyl bromide -- despite extension of the Clean Air Act deadline. Prior to the rollback of the 2001 deadline, Friends of the Earth urged EPA to implement a graduated phase-out requiring a 50-percent reduction by January 1, 1999, 75-percent by January 1, 2000, and 100-percent by January 1, 2001. Though the deadline has now been moved to 2005, the need for aggressive interim steps toward phase-out remains.

The EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture should develop a coordinated action plan and an education program to be implemented through extension service agents and growers associations to promote the rapid and widespread adoption of safe alternatives.

The EPA and the state of Florida must do more to protect the health of farmworkers from the hazards of methyl bromide exposure. Because Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) has failed to enforce EPA's Worker Protection Standard (WPS), EPA should exercise its authority to appoint another state agency, such as the Florida Department of Health, to enforce this program.

The state of Florida should launch a program to reduce overall pesticide use and promote environmentally sustainable pest management practices.

Reaping Havoc is a publication of the Sustainable Tomatoes Campaign, a coalition project focusing attention on the health and environmental problems caused by methyl bromide. Through public and consumer education, the Campaign is pressing for the phaseout of methyl bromide and the adoption of agricultural practices that are safer for workers, communities and the environment. Read more about participating organizations.