Word: edb
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...state asked Procter & Gamble to take Duncan Hines muffin mixes off the shelves, and in Massachusetts, the public health commissioner recommended that consumers return 46 different cake mixes and grain products to the store. The cause of the panicked shelf cleaning was a chemical called ethylene dibromide, or EDB. A highly effective pesticide similar to DDT, it is also a dangerous carcinogen. Farmers have used EDB to keep bugs off grain and citrus fruit for more than 30 years, and scientists have known the cancer risk for the past ten years. But the Federal Government has been slow...
...first began to look closely at the chemical in 1977, and by 1980 had proposed to cancel all food-related use (EDB is also added to gasoline to prevent lead deposits in engines). But then came the change in administrations and, with strong chemical industry lobbying against any restrictions, no action was taken under now-infamous EPA administrator Anne Burford Last September, Ruckelshaus cancelled use of EDB as a soil fumigant, but only after significant amounts of residues of the chemical showed up in the ground water in several states. The current order extends the ban to use on grain...
...despite the headlines, Ruckelshaus' restrictions on EDB use have done relatively little to counter the still more widespread threat which the use and overuse of pesticides in America poses. When he presented the recent order, the EPA administrator reassured the press that the country is not facing a "public health emergency:" yet such a crisis may be just around the corner. EDB is only one of scores of pesticides in use across the country that are suspected of threatening human health, and are showing up in food and water supplies in many states...
...sense, it is appropriate that the discoveries about the extensive presence of EDB in our food supply have surfaced recently, since far-reaching and badly needed amendments to FIFRA are now before both houses of Congress. These amendments would prohibit the application of pesticides which are still not fully tested for their threat to human health. This would bring a halt to the present EPA practice of allowing untested chemicals to be used while the studies are being carried out. In addition, the amendments would stop the granting of special "emergency use" permits for the use of pesticides which...
...present, the bill's chances are not good unless Ruckelshaus throws his weight behind the measure now before Congress. Ruckelshaus has already compromised his office by avoiding any ruling on the use of EDB on citrus products--largely because of the potential effect on international trade--although residues of the chemical at 25 times the international limit considered safe for humans have been found in the pulp of fruits from Florida. In light of his sworn duties to protect the environment and human life, strong support of the Congressional measures should be foremost on Ruckelshaus' agenda...