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Fumigants used by farmers contribute to air pollution
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In Ventura County a large majority of the $360 million a year strawberry crop is dependent on the use of fumigants, according to farmers.
Fumigants are injected into the soil before planting to kill weeds, and to eradicate disease-carrying microbes and pests in the ground. Sometimes fumigants are sprayed on picked crops as well.
The seven primary fumigants used by farmers each release volatile organic compounds, which in turn react with sunlight and create smog.
According to the state, fumigants represent about a fifth of all pesticides used in California but produce about half the volatile organic compounds wafting off applied pesticides. Because Ventura County exceeds federal air pollution standards for air quality, the state has been forced to implement standards to reduce the amount of volatile organic compounds released here.
By far the biggest contributor to smog locally is from cars, and state estimates say that the amount of smog causing gases from fumigants on farm fields at most contribute about 2 percent of the total of such air pollution in the county.
The most widely used fumigants are methyl bromide, Telone, chloropicrin, and pesticides that generate methyl isothiocyanate, such as metam-sodium, according to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation.
Although new techniques of applying the chemicals have reduced the amount that drifts into the air, in Ventura County there has also been a huge increase in the acreage of crops that depend on the use of fumigants, so the total amount of the chemicals used here has increase in the last 15 years.
Posted by Ventura22 on July 11, 2007 at 8:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And this comes as a suprise to anyone?? What a terrible price to pay for such an unnecessary food type. Sad. The tide is turning at last. Too bad it took so much government intervention to break-up the lies, greed and excuses.
Posted by Will on July 27, 2007 at 11:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Exactly how do you get upset about something that contributes about 2% of county smog and allows our county to produce maybe 25% of the berries in the US? Widening the freeway to lessen congestion would probably cut car contributions to smog by more than 2%.
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