Word: epa
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Government insists that pesticides pose little hazard to health. The EPA sets limits for the amounts of residue left in foods that are well below what it considers to be danger levels. And regular checks by the Food and Drug Administration of both domestic and imported crops uncover few violations. In 1987, for example, the FDA tested 14,492 food samples, about one-third of them fruits and vegetables, and found that less than 1% of the items had residues that exceeded the legally allowable EPA level. No pesticides at all were detected...
...EPA permits American farmers to use some 320 pesticides on food. However, the scientific information on many of them is thin. In 1970 pesticide regulation was removed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and turned over to the fledgling EPA. Most of the chemicals then in use were grandfathered into approval without extensive tests to document their safety; 66 of the 320 pesticides have since been classified as carcinogens by the Government...
Critics complain that the EPA has no way to measure the combined impact of ingesting many different pesticides. "I may have Alar on my apples, lead arsenate on my grapefruit, captan on my vegetables," says Jay Feldman, national coordinator of the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides. "Alone, each of them may constitute a negligible risk. But when you add them up, the total toxic burden is too high...
Obviously, the Government will have to strengthen its regulatory standards and put more resources into testing if it hopes to bolster confidence in the wholesomeness of fruits and vegetables. The EPA will also have to review whether most pesticides serve an indispensable purpose. Between 60% and 80% of pesticides are used on produce primarily to enhance eye appeal by keeping fruits unblemished longer. Alar, for example, is sprayed on apples mainly to allow them to ripen slowly. Some consumers have begun to reject the perfect look. "I do not want food that has been overly sprayed, waxed or tampered with...
...EPA sets standards for water safety, but has been slow to formulate limits. So far, maximum levels have been decided for some 30 contaminants, less than half the number ordered by Congress. Moreover, critics complain that there is no monitoring of water in the home...