Methyl Iodide Approval Challenged

California’s decision last month to approve the controversial pesticide methyl iodide for use on strawberries and other crops was “irresponsible and illegal,” a coalition of environmental and farmworker groups asserts in a lawsuit filed against the state on Dec. 30. The groups claim that the soil fumigant is a known carcinogen that causes miscarriages and contaminates groundwater. The suit challenges the decision of California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), saying it violates state environmental and public health laws. In addition, the groups say DPR ignored top scientists, including its own scientific review panel, who warned that methyl iodide is too toxic for agricultural use. “DPR played too fast and loose with their decision,” says Greg Loarie, an attorney for Earthjustice, an advocacy group that filed the suit on behalf of the coalition. “They exceeded their legal authority and have put the public and farmworkers at great risk of harm.”