EPA Seeks Ban On Key Farm Chemical

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to ban all uses of carbofuran, saying the farm insecticide poses "considerable risks" to food and drinking water and to birds that are exposed in treated fields.

Conservation groups, which have campaigned for many years to have carbofuran removed from the market, heralded EPA's decision as a victory for the environment and one that was long overdue.

"Removal of this pesticide will save tens of thousands of birds, including bald eagles, hawks, and migratory songbirds," says George Fenwick, president of the American Bird Conservancy. "Carbofuran's toxicity to wildlife made it one of America's most harmful licensed products, and we are delighted that EPA has done the right thing. This is a victory for science and the environment."

In a decision announced on Aug. 3, EPA is proposing to immediately cancel the use of carbofuran on alfalfa, corn, cotton, potatoes, and rice. A four-year phaseout is being proposed for six other minor agricultural uses, which the agency says would provide time to find effective alternatives.

"Based on our evaluation, there are high ecological and occupational risks associated with this pesticide," an EPA spokeswoman says. A final decision will be made after a 60-day public comment period, she says.

FMC Corp., which manufactures and sells carbofuran under the brand name Furadan, says it "disagrees strongly" with the conclusions reached by EPA and will defend the product to protect important agricultural uses as well as a significant number of manufacturing jobs in Maryland, New York, and Illinois.

"EPA has exaggerated the risks of carbofuran and underestimated its unique benefits to agriculture in arriving at this unjustified conclusion to eliminate continued use of the product," says Michael Morelli, director of global regulatory affairs of FMC's agricultural products group. "We disagree with the evaluations behind the agency's decision and will continue our efforts to explain the science that supports our position during the comment period."

Morelli says EPA is underestimating the value of carbofuran by ignoring comments from more than 3,000 growers nationwide who have written in support of the continued use of the farm chemical.

"Carbofuran does what no other insecticide can do to control some devastating insect problems," he remarks. "As an alternative chemistry class, it's inclusion in pest control spray programs also helps to prevent insects from becoming resistant to other insecticides, and it is a key tool for integrated pest management programs."

Carbofuran first came under fire in the 1980s after an EPA special review estimated that over a million birds were killed each year by the granular formulation, which was banned by the agency in 1994. However, the liquid, or "flowable", form remained on the market. Nearly 1 million lb of the chemical is used each year in the U.S.

In a 2005 ecological risk assessment, EPA found no legal uses of carbofuran that did not kill wild birds. If a flock of mallards was to feed in a carbofuran-treated alfalfa field, 92% of the birds in the flock would quickly die, EPA predicted.

Last week, the agency also announced a ban on lindane, which is used to treat seeds. Lindane, which builds up in the environment and human bodies, had already been phased out in 52 countries.