02/06/2007

By ANNE KIM  / Associated Press

Farmworkers and environmental groups reopened a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday in an attempt to more quickly phase out the use of a pesticide that has been applied to apples, pears and other crops since the late 1950s. The groups contend the product poisons farmworkers.

The lawsuit challenges a decision by the EPA last November to phase out the pesticide azinphos-methyl, commonly called guthion or AZM for short, by 2012.

"These pesticides put thousands of workers at risk of serious illness every year," said Erik Nicholson of the United Farm Workers of America. "It is inexcusable for EPA to allow AZM to continue poisoning workers for six more years."

The farmworkers and environmental groups, represented by the environmental law firm Earthjustice, sued the EPA in federal court in Seattle in 2004, arguing that the agency was wrong to continue allowing the use of a pesticide that could cause dizziness, vomiting, seizures, paralysis, loss of mental function and even death. That lawsuit was put on hold when the EPA agreed to reconsider the use of AZM and another pesticide, phosmet, which is used on orchard crops and blueberries.

Last November, the EPA decided to end the use of AZM on nursery stocks and Brussels sprouts by Sept. 30, 2007. The phase-out for nuts was extended until Oct. 30, 2009, and for apples, blueberries, cherries, pears and parsley until Sept. 30, 2012.

The EPA decided to lengthen the phase-out time but also progressively limit the amount of AZM that would be available during this phase-out period, Enesta Jones, an EPA spokeswoman, said Monday in an e-mail.

"This allows sufficient time to facilitate the transition to safer alternatives," she said. "Public health is still our top priority and the agency will implement several risk mitigation measures to reduce exposure and ways to minimize harm if the public is exposed as this phase-out occurs."

In January, the EPA decided to lengthen — for some uses of phosmet — the amount of time workers are restricted entry into areas treated with the pesticide and added other restrictions to nine uses of phosmet, such as lowering the maximum amount of phosmet that can be applied each season.

But that doesn't adequately protect workers, said Patti Goldman, managing attorney for Earthjustice.

Earthjustice also wants to end the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, used on corn and orchard crops, and seeks to add it to the reopened lawsuit, Goldman said.