Market Farming

["Ericka & Rich Dana" <doodles AT netins.net>]

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P A N U P S
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
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Farmworker Community Poisoned by Pesticide Drift
February 18, 2000

In early November 1999, mist from a sprinkler application of the
soil fumigant metam sodium blew into Earlimart, a small town in
California's San Joaquin Valley. About 150 people, nearly all
farmworkers, were forced to evacuate their homes. At least 24 people
were sent to local hospitals complaining of nausea, vomiting,
headaches, burning eyes and shortness of breath.

After their exposure, residents were scared and humiliated when
local authorities ordered them to take their clothes off and be
sprayed with water by men wearing masks and green splash suits--the
hazardous materials team. Only a small plastic tarp was held between
the victims and a crowd of at least 100 emergency personnel,
television crews and other spectators.

County agriculture officials said it appeared the company,
Wilbur-Ellis Co., followed county regulations in applying the
pesticide. For three days, the product was applied and then sprayed
with water to activate the chemicals. Water reacts with metam sodium
to form a gas that kills nematodes, fungi, weed seeds and other
organisms in the soil. One of metam sodium's break down products is
methyl isothiocyanate (MITC), a powerful irritant of soft tissue
such as eyes and lungs.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
exposure to this pesticide can cause acute skin irritation and
serious irritation of respiratory mucous membranes, eyes and lungs.
EPA lists metam sodium as a probable human carcinogen. The state of
California lists the chemical as causing both cancer and birth
defects in laboratory animals.

After the incident, it took nine days--and organized community
pressure--before a county health team came to Earlimart to treat
poisoning victims who could not afford medical care. Residents also
had to pressure the local health clinic to bill for services instead
of demanding up-front payments to treat poisoning victims. Billing,
however, did not resolve the victims' financial burden. Josefina
Murgia, a mother of three, received a $6,000 bill for her trip to
the hospital. "I don't have that type of money," she said. "Paying
the bill would mean my family would go hungry."

This was not the first large-scale problem with metam sodium in
California. A mid-1990s train wreck dumped metam sodium into the
Sacramento River, killing all fish for miles downstream. A
subsequent state study found elevated rates of both new and more
severe cases of asthma among residents in the area of the spill. In
May 1999, students were evacuated from New Cuyama elementary school
near Santa Maria after exposure to the pesticide. A previous
poisoning occurred at the New Cuyama school in 1992. In 1996, there
were two major incidents in Stockton and Fresno where metam sodium
drifted from fields where it was applied resulting in a total of 41
reported probable poisoning cases. From 1991 to 1998, use of metam
sodium in California increased from less than 5 million pounds to
nearly than 14 million pounds.

A coalition including the United Farm Workers, AFL-CIO and community
representatives are urging Tulare County to prohibit sprinkler
application of metam sodium. They are also calling on the Director
of California EPA to re-evaluate use of metam sodium in light of its
health effects on farm workers and other rural residents and to
conduct a thorough investigation into the full health impacts from
the Earlimart community's exposure to this dangerous chemical.
California's Department of Pesticide Regulation has recently agreed
to move enforcement authority in this case from the county level to
the state level where fines for violations may be substantially
greater.

Contact: United Farmworkers of America, AFL-CIO; 326 No. Third
Street, Porterville, CA 93257; phone (559) 783-8390; fax (559)
783-8393; http://www.ufw.org/releases/earlimart.html.

Sources: "Pesticide mist forces evacuations," Associated Press, Nov.
15, 1999; "Residents sickened by pesticide cloud: Ag officials
consider changing rules," Associated Press, Dec. 7, 1999;
"California community humiliated in pesticide scare," Associated
Press Dec. 9, 1999; "Earlimart residents present county leaders with
183 sickness complaints," Associated Press, Dec. 9, 1999; the Fresno
Bee. November 16 and November 18, 1999; the Bakersfield Californian,
Nov. 15 and Dec. 8, 1999.
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