Growers Worry Over Possible Loss of Poison : Agriculture: Strawberry farmers are concerned that their annual $110-million harvest could plummet if EPA succeeds in phasing out the pest killer methyl bromide.

By STEPHANIE SIMON

March 20, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Strawberry grower Bill Deardorff doesn’t understand the chemistry behind it all, but he dutifully spreads $310,000 worth of a potent fumigant on his fields each year.

He calls methyl bromide his wonder chemical. The clear, odorless gas penetrates the soil and kills insects, mites, rodents and weed seeds after a single application.

Like most strawberry farmers, Deardorff says he couldn’t get by without the poison. But soon he might have to.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week proposed placing methyl bromide in the top class of chemicals that deplete the earth’s protective layer of ozone, and set in motion a process that would phase out all production and importation of the chemical by the year 2000.

In addition to destroying the ozone layer, which screens the earth from cancer-causing ultraviolet light, methyl bromide has been linked to birth defects in animals. Listed under Proposition 65 as a reproductive toxin, the chemical has already been restricted to limited uses in California.

Yet farmers complain that the chemical industry has not developed a suitable alternative for those dependent on methyl bromide.

Injected into the soil before planting, methyl bromide can virtually sterilize the ground so the fragile roots of strawberry plants can settle into disease-free furrows. While other fumigants work against isolated insects, methyl bromide alone destroys a wide range of pests, quickly and effectively.

Without methyl bromide, farmers estimate that their annual harvest, worth $110 million in Ventura County, could plummet by as much as a third or half.

“It would be an absolute disaster for the strawberry industry,” Deardorff said.

But permitting methyl bromide’s continued use could be disastrous to the environment. When the fumigant vaporizes and drifts 15 miles up to the stratosphere, bromide molecules begin attacking ozone.

“The effect on the ozone layer and on life on earth is so grave that . . . economics are considered to be a moot point,” said Bill Thomas, the EPA’s coordinator for methyl bromide.

Once a chemical is classified as an ozone-depleting agent, the Clean Air Act of 1990 kicks in and demands swift phaseout--regardless of the short-term costs to farmers or manufacturers, Thomas said.

“This is a very toxic chemical,” said Veda Federighi, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Pesticides. “In this day and age, when agriculture is so advanced, we should be able to avoid using it.”

Approved as both a soil fumigant and a post-harvest treatment for fruit and vegetables, methyl bromide has been in use since the 1930s. Some pest-control firms continue to use methyl bromide to exterminate termites in houses, but many have stopped since discovering that the chemical destroys foam carpet backing and sometimes reacts with leather upholstery to create a rotten-egg smell.

Independent of the EPA’s ozone studies, researchers have recently linked methyl bromide with reproductive problems in animals. Workers who are overexposed to the chemical might suffer from headaches, nausea, dizziness and, in extreme cases, death.

The federal rule now under consideration would freeze production at 1991 levels beginning in 1995 and would eliminate production altogether by 2000. Farmers would be able to use existing stock after that date, but strict hazardous-waste storage rules make it unlikely they would stockpile the chemical.

Although farmers concede that methyl bromide depletes the ozone--it can eat away at the earth’s protective shield 30 to 60 times faster than chlorofluorocarbons--they cite that only about 25% of atmospheric bromide comes from man-made chemicals. Microorganisms in the ocean produce the rest.

“There’s a myth that growers (use pesticides) because they like it,” said Rex Laird, director of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. “But they wouldn’t do this unless they had to, because it’s terribly expensive.”

Spraying soil fumigant costs about $1,200 an acre, or one-tenth the total cost of preparing a field for production, growers said.

Because the plants are so easily damaged, most strawberry farmers contend their crops do not thrive well in organic, chemical-free farms. Of the 25,000 acres of strawberries in California, fewer than 100 acres are organic, according to Teresa Thorne of the state Strawberry Advisory Board.

Collaborating with growers, researchers are seeking alternatives to methyl bromide and trying to breed more hardy, disease-resistant plants. But because they have to test each idea over the course of an entire growing season, they fear they will not come up with a viable product by 2000.

Nonetheless, Deardorff, the Oxnard plains strawberry rancher, said he’s not all pessimistic.

“Methyl bromide is head and shoulders above everything else,” Deardorff said. “But we’re looking for alternatives. I wouldn’t be in the farming business if I didn’t have confidence.”

FYI

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold a public hearing on its proposed phaseout of methyl bromide April 2 in Washington. Written comments will be accepted until May 3 and should be addressed to Air Docket No. A-92-13, 401 M St. S.W., Washington, D.C., 20460. After the comment period has elapsed, the EPA will make a final determination. For more information, call 1-800-296-1996.