US Pushes To Further Increase Use Of Ozone-Destroying Pesticide

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"The United States plans to seek a waiver in international talks this week that would allow American farmers to continue using methyl bromide, a pesticide slated to be banned in 2005 because it contributes to destruction of Earth's protective ozone layer.

The pesticide, which has also been linked to prostate cancer in farm workers and neurological problems in people exposed to large quantities, was scheduled to be phased out in 2005 under the Montreal Protocol, the 1987 treaty struck under the Reagan administration to restrict the use of ozone-destroying chemicals. The pact, which has been updated several times and signed by more than 160 nations, is widely considered the most successful international environmental treaty in history.

The treaty allows petitions for "critical use" exemptions to the methyl bromide ban, and the Bush administration has already secured a one-year reprieve for 2005 at the behest of U.S. growers of tomatoes, strawberries and other produce.

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"This particular chemical, methyl bromide, is a tough one," said Claudia A. McMurray, deputy assistant secretary of state for environment, who is leading the U.S. delegation to treaty talks in Geneva this week. "What we have to do is balance our desire to aggressively phase out all ozone depleting chemicals with the fact that our farmers need this chemical." But environmental and farm worker advocates question this assertion, arguing that alternatives exist and that methyl bromide use is dropping."

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