The EPA wants your opinion on endosulfan: tell them to ban this toxic pesticide.

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/endosulfan?rk=E1S3S571OlyNE

Please take immediate action. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking for public input on its review of the toxic pesticide endosulfan. The UFW and a number of environmental groups will be turning in a joint petition to the EPA on February 15. It is vital that we get as many signatures as possible.

Endosulfan is acutely toxic and easily absorbed by the human body. Low levels of exposure in the womb have been linked to autism, male reproductive harm and other birth defects. The lethal chemical has been linked to dozens of accidental deaths. It is an organochlorine--which means it persists in our environment long after it has killed the target pests--thus leaving a deadly legacy for people and wildlife. In the U.S., this toxic pesticide is used on tomatoes, cotton and other crops.

The European Union and several other countries have already banned endosulfan. Less dangerous alternatives are available. It’s time the U.S. does its part to protect communities and the environment at home and around the world from this persistent organic pollutant.

We have a short opportunity to make a difference. The EPA is currently looking for public comment, so please act immediately and let them know continued use of this dangerous pesticide is unacceptable. Demand an end to endosulfan by adding your name to the petition today. Please forward this petition to as many friends as possible and encourage them to sign no later than Feb. 15.

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Full Petition Text:

To: Stephen Johnson, EPA Administrator

Dear Mr. Johnson,

We urge the EPA to cancel all remaining uses of endosulfan and revoke all food residue tolerances for this toxic chemical.

EPA's own analysis shows that use of endosulfan in agriculture poses unacceptable risks to the health and safety of pesticide applicators who handle this pesticide and farmworkers who work in endosulfan-treated fields.

The European Union and other countries have already banned endosulfan, and it?s time for the US to do the same. Viable alternatives to endosulfan--including non-chemical pest control methods--are readily available. We can do without this endocrine disruptor in our own bodies and in the bodies of our children--the group that your agency has determined is most exposed to endosulfan through food and water.

In addition to jeopardizing human health, endosulfan and its breakdown product are potent environmental toxins and persistent organic pollutants. EPA's calculations show that its use on tomatoes in Florida (one the few remaining crops in the U.S. with significant endosulfan use) presents a grave threat to aquatic organisms. A growing body of evidence shows that endosulfan is transported far from where it is applied, eventually ending up in the Arctic where it may move up the food chain and threaten the health of the region's Indigenous peoples.

Surely the relatively minor economic benefits that endosulfan use provides to a small number of growers do not outweigh the substantial risks it poses to the health of farmworkers, pesticide applicators, consumers, Indigenous peoples, and the environment. The US must act now to protect the health of people and the environment at home as well as globally by banning endosulfan.
Sincerely:




http://www.ufwaction.org/campaign/endosulfan?rk=E1S3S571OlyNE