Help California Keep Methyl Iodide Off Our Food

If the idea of carcinogens on your food isn't appealing, you might be interested in a decision currently being weighed by the EPA. Methyl iodide is said to be so toxic that it is used to intentionally cause cancer in labs, by scientists wearing special protective equipment. Yet it is currently registered as a pesticide, but a public comment period lasting until early next week—June 29—could help bring that to an end.

In its final report [PDF], a California scientific review committee found that "any anticipated scenario for the agricultural...use of this agent would...have a significant adverse impact on the public health."

The New York Times quotes Theodore A. Slotkin, one of the professors on that committee, saying, "I'm not in blanket opposition to the use of pesticides, but methyl iodide alarms me... When we come across a compound that is known to be neurotoxic, as well as developmentally toxic and an endocrine disruptor, it would seem prudent to err on the side of caution."

The decision will determine California's state policy, but has national implications: if methyl iodide becomes registered in California, millions of pounds of it could be released every year into the environment, affecting soil and water supplies—and because the state produces more than half of all domestic fruit and vegetables, contaminating the food that people eat nationwide.

People can submit comments until June 29. Make sure to speak up before then: email comments to mei_comments@cdpr.ca.gov, and/or sign petitions from PANNA and The Petition Site.

Regulation is desperately needed—as the Petition Site points out, "Even the strictest regulations on application will surely not prevent exposure of workers, surrounding populations, and wildlife to this hazardous chemical."