[BCNnet] News Release

Tue Feb 12 09:31:57 CST 2008

BCNnet friends,

I understand the news release in the post I sent earlier today didn't
transferred properly, so if you missed it here it is in text.

Donnie R. Dann
Highland Park. IL/Lake County
donnieibrd at yahoo.com

Contact: Steve Holmer, American Bird Conservancy, 202-234-7181, ext. 216
sholmer at abcbirds.org, www.abcbirds.org <http://www.abcbirds.org/>  
Cat Lazaroff, Defenders of Wildlife, 202-772-3270, clazaroff at defenders.org 
EPA Under Pressure to Keep Banned Pesticide on Market
Science Panel Agrees with Pesticide Ban which Followed Millions of Bird
Deaths

(Washington, D.C. - February 11, 2008) The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) is under pressure from a pesticide manufacturer and members of
Congress to reverse an August 30, 2006 decision to cancel the registration
of all uses of the highly toxic pesticide carbofuran, which is sold under
the name "Furadan" by FMC Corporation. A Scientific Advisory Panel reviewed
the decision last week and agreed with EPA that the pesticide poses an
unreasonable risk to the environment, particularly birds, and that there was
no evidence to recommend reversing EPA's decision to cancel carbofuran.

"Those who support keeping carbofuran on the market are stating their clear
indifference to conserving wildlife and to exposing workers to toxins," said
Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy. "Carbofuran is
harmful to human health, and one of the most deadly pesticides to birds left
on the market. It is responsible for the deaths of millions of wild birds
since its introduction in 1967, including Bald and Golden Eagles, Red-tailed
Hawks, and migratory songbirds. EPA has already said a firm no to the
continued use of this substance, and lawmakers need to listen to the experts
on this."

In its 2005 ecological risk assessment on carbofuran, EPA stated that all
legal uses of the pesticide were likely to kill wild birds. If a flock of
mallards were to feed in a carbofuran treated alfalfa field, EPA predicted
that 92% of the birds in the flock would quickly die. EPA analysis has also
confirmed that carbofuran is a threat to human health through contaminated
food, drinking water, and occupational exposure.

"This is the first time in twenty years that a pesticide manufacturer has
fought cancellation of a registered pesticide," said Dr. Michael Fry,
Director of ABC's Pesticides and Birds Campaign. "The EPA's decision to ban
carbofuran was a huge victory for science and the environment, but despite
the overwhelming scientific evidence of carbofuran's extreme toxicity and
the availability of safer alternatives, the manufacturer continues to fight
all efforts on the part of the EPA and conservationists to have the ban
enacted. FMC Corporation needs to take the responsible course and
immediately withdraw carbofuran from the market."

"The evidence is clear; carbofuran is toxic to wildlife and people. EPA
should not fold to political pressures and allow this dangerous pesticide
back on the market," said Rodger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders of
Wildlife. "In 2006, more than 20,000 of our members and activists asked EPA
to take carbofuran off the market. EPA made the right decision in 2006 and
they should stick by that decision now."

BACKGROUND

In 2007, the deliberate misapplication of carbofuran by a Colorado farmer
killed over 2,200 migratory birds, including Mourning Doves, Horned Larks,
Western Meadowlarks, Red-Winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. The farmer
pleaded guilty in federal court for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Other incidents of bird poisonings by carbofuran are documented in the Avian
Incident Monitoring System (www.abcbirds.org/aims) operated by American Bird
Conservancy in cooperation with the EPA and state and federal wildlife
agencies. The Birds in Agricultural Areas (www.abcbirds.org/biaa) database
also documents significant bird use in the major crops where carbofuran is
sprayed.  Continued use of carbofuran will only lead to more incidents such
as the recent bird kill in Colorado.

In addition to killing birds when used legally, carbofuran is often
illegally used in poison baits intended to kill wildlife in agricultural
areas and grazing lands. This abuse has resulted in the deaths of raptors
including Bald and Golden Eagles.

American Bird Conservancy and other conservation and worker protection
organizations campaigned for many years to have carbofuran removed from the
market. They heralded EPA's decision as a clear victory for the environment,
and one that was long overdue. Groups supporting the cancellation include:
American Bird Conservancy, Alaska Bird Observatory, Archbold Biological
Station, Beyond Pesticides, Bird Conservation Network, Center for Biological
Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Endangered Habitats League, Friends of
Dyke Marsh, Hampshire Bird Club, Massachusetts Audubon Society, Minnesota
River Valley Audubon Chapter, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources
Defense Council, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides,
Pesticide Action Network North America, Riveredge Bird Club, Seattle Audubon
Society, Taku Conservation Society, Tennessee Ornithological Society, The
Endocrine Disruption Exchange, The Institute for Bird Populations, Virginia
Society of Ornithology, Washington Toxics Coalition, Wildlife Center of
Virginia, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, World Wildlife Fund, Xerces
Society, Maryland Ornithological Society. 

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. According to scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
there are "no known conditions under which carbofuran can be used without
killing migratory birds. Many of these die-off incidents followed
applications of carbofuran that were made with extraordinary care." The
granular formation was cancelled in 1994, but the liquid form remains on the
market. 

Carbofuran is one of the most heavily used insecticides in the world, but
its extreme toxicity to farm workers and wildlife has made it very dangerous
to use. EPA's cancellation will likely have a domino effect internationally,
as other countries frequently follow EPA's lead.

In 1974 Congress passed the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide
Act (FIFRA), to require stricter controls on pesticides, and to encourage
the development of less toxic alternatives to older chemicals. More than
1,000 alternative pesticides have since been registered, but a few "dinosaur
chemicals", such as carbofuran, have remained on the market because they
were grandfathered into the regulations when FIFRA was passed. 

Congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996, which set higher
standards for pesticide registration and residues in food, and gave EPA a
deadline of ten years to re-evaluate the most dangerous pesticides. EPA's
announcement to cancel the registration of carbofuran happened on the
precise day of the ten year deadline. 

Once implemented, the cancellation will be effective for all uses of
carbofuran: alfalfa, corn, cotton, cotton, potatoes, and rice. The
cancellation  will be phased out over four years for other minor uses
including artichokes, chili peppers in the southwest, cucumbers, spinach for
seed, sunflowers, and pine seedlings. Unfortunately, the cancellation will
not apply to use on some major imported agricultural products.  The EPA is
still allowing the importation of rice, coffee, bananas, and sugarcane with
carbofuran residues in the commodities, posing risks to US consumers and
putting US growers at a competitive disadvantage.  American Bird Conservancy
and the Natural Resources Defense Council have recently petitioned EPA to
cancel these import tolerances for pesticide residues on food.

Assorted letters to EPA concerning carbofuran cancellation (including
letters from Members of Congress),
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail
<http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=EP
A-HQ-OPP-2005-0162> &d=EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0162.  Document number
EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0162-0487 dated February 5, 2008.

Comment letter from FMC Corporation,
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail
<http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=
09000064803a0c8e> &o=09000064803a0c8e.

Comment letter from Dr. Michael Fry, American Bird Conservancy,
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail
<http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=EP
A-HQ-OPP-2005-0162> &d=EPA-HQ-OPP-2005-0162. 

Comment letter from Dr. Jennifer Sass, Natural Resources Defense Council,
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail
<http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=
09000064803a5bc2> &o=09000064803a5bc2. 
### 30 ###
 <http://www.abcbirds.org> American Bird Conservancy (ABC) is the only
organization that works solely to conserve native wild birds and their
habitats throughout the Americas. ABC is a not-for-profit membership
organization that is consistently awarded a top, four-star rating by the
independent group Charity Navigator. ABC's Pesticides and Birds Campaign
aims to reduce the exposure of wild birds to hazardous pesticides. For more
information see
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/pesticides/index.html. 
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals
and plants in their natural communities.  With more than 1 million members
and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative
solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come.  For
more information, visit  <http://www.defenders.org> www.defenders.org. 

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