Can the Ozone Wait? The U.S. Continues to use Banned Pesticide

At the request of the Bush administration, the United States has been exempted from an international ban on the production and use of the chemical methyl bromide, a pesticide used to sterilize soil. The U.S. will continue to use the chemical into 2006, though at a reduced rate.

Scientists and environmentalists say that the cutback is not enough. In order to heal the ozone layer, they say, the U.S. should honor the United Nation’s Montreal Protocol.

Background

In 1987, the U.S. was one of the original participants in the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement to reduce chemicals that deplete the ozone layer. The Protocol, which the U.S. ratified in 1988, includes an international ban on the production and use of methyl bromide by 2005.

The Montreal Protocol also led the U.S. Congress to enact the Clean Air Amendments of 1990, which, among other things, intended to ensure that the U.S. could meet the obligations under the Protocol.

What is methyl bromide?

Methyl bromide is an odorless, colorless, toxic gas that is used to clear soil of any fungus, weeds, or bacteria.

Many farmers hail the pesticide as highly effective and doubt its alternatives. They claim that the chemical is already highly regulated; it is supposed to be injected deep into the soil and then covered to prevent drift.

Many farmers will continue to use the pesticide as long as they are allowed; they complain that other chemicals require more than one application or add time to the planting process. Organic farming requires more labor and produces less.

Environmental caution

Environmentalists and scientists argue that farmers all over the world have come up with effective alternatives to methyl bromide, and that the safest route for the environment is to stop using it altogether.

Along with other manmade chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that are used in aerosol cans and refrigerators, methyl bromide triggers a chain reaction that gradually destroys the ozone layer.

Scientists have warned against the production and use of these chemicals since the 1970s, and in the 1980s, satellite images displayed a formidable hole in the ozone over Antarctica.

During a portion of the year, the hole reaches to the southernmost tip of South America, exposing the people of Punta Arenas, Chile to dangerously direct ultraviolet rays. The incidents of skin cancer there almost doubled between 1987 and 1993.

Letting the environment heal

Leading climatologists claim that the ozone will gradually heal if humans stop using CFCs, methyl bromide, and other ozone-threatening chemicals. Therefore, the United States’ continued use of the pesticide is likely to slow the recovery of the ozone layer.

While the Bush administration is considering the potentially harmful impact of the methyl bromide ban on the chemical and farming industries, scientists and environmentalists are thinking about the pesticide’s harmful impact on the environment. And while the slower phase out of methyl bromide is a compromise between these two points of view, it may also send a message that the United States is not willing to lead the way on environmental reform.

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Article Posted on: 12/31/2004