Updates from the Daily News Blog

California Plan Falls Short of Reducing Soil Fumigants
April 11, 2013

Use of Soil Fumigant Still High Despite Ban
September 12, 2011

New Issues Arise Over Methyl Iodide Use
September 7, 2011

New Study Links Pesticide Exposure to Prostate Cancer
August 30, 2011

EPA Concludes California Discriminated Against Latino Children in Agreement
August 29, 2011

Will Sulfuryl Fluoride Phase-Out Shift Market Away from Toxic Fumigants?
July 12, 2011

Organic Strawberry Farming Leads to Healthier Berries and Soils
September 7, 2010

California’s Pesticide Use Declined, Yet Millions of Pounds of Toxic Pesticides Continue
January 26, 2010

Farmworker Groups Ask EPA Administrator to Uphold Environmental Justice for Farmworker Communities
June 19, 2009

Workers and Communities Still Unprotected by EPA Fumigant Rule, Advocates Say
May 29, 2009

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Methyl bromide

General Information

• Fact Sheet: Structural Fumigants_sulfuryl_fluoride_&_methyl_bromide.pdf
• Product Names:
  Meth-O-Gas (Great Lakes Chemical)
  Terr-O-Gas (Great Lake Chemical)
  Brom-O-Gas (Great Lakes Chemical) formulated with Chloropicrin
  Pic-Brom (Soil Chemicals)
  Mebrom (Mebrom NV)

• Chemical Class: Inorganic fungicide, insecticide, rodenticide
• Uses: Broad-spectrum fumigant chemical used as an acaricide, antimicrobial, fungicide, herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, and vertebrate control agent.
• Alternatives: Organic agricultural
• Beyond Pesticides rating: Toxic

Health and Environmental Effects

• Cancer: Yes (7)
• Endocrine Disruption: Yes (36)
• Reproductive Effects: Not documented
• Neurotoxicity: Yes (7)
• Kidney/Liver Damage: Not documented
• Sensitizer/ Irritant: Yes (7)
• Birth/Developmental Yes (7)
• Detected in Groundwater: Not documented
• Potential Leacher: Not documented
• Toxic to Birds: Not documented
• Toxic to Fish/Aquatic Organisms: Yes (8)
• Toxic to Bees: Not documented

Additional Information

• Regulatory Status:
  • EPA Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) amended 5/2009
  • Because MeBr depletes the stratospheric ozone layer, it was to be phased-out in 2005, however, critical use exemptions allow for its continued use.
• Supporting information:
  • Extoxnet Methyl Bromide Factsheet (Extension Toxicology Network)
  • PAN Pesticides Database: Methyl Bromide (Pesticide Action Network)
  • Scorecard Methyl Bromide Factsheet (The Pollution Information Site)
• Studies:
  • Top 15 Farmworker Poison