Reporter thoroughly covers pesticide controversy.

Posted by Negin P. Martin, Ph. D at Sep 25, 2009 09:45 AM |

A Fresno Bee reporter clearly and accurately relates the science, health risks and controversy of using methyl iodide.

In a September 13 Fresno Bee article, Robert Rodriguez effectively communicates both the health risks and the economic benefits of pesticide use as he lays out the disagreement over methyl iodide. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is considering Arysta LifeScience Corporations’s request to use it as a pesticide.

American farmers have a long history of using pesticides to maximize their crop yield. But the safety of pesticide use and its effects on human health, wildlife and the environment generate many controversies.
One of the latest involves methyl iodide (or iodomethane). This chemical is a soil disinfectant that evaporates easily and produces toxic fumes. It is a known carcinogen that has prompted many environmental groups to oppose its application. The dispute is put in perspective in the first few words of the Fresno Bee article: "A highly potent chemical capable of clearing farmland from pests, disease and weeds is attracting fierce oppposition from environmental groups and some scientists in California …”
Rodriguez uses the latest findings published in the scientific journal Inhalation Toxicology to describe the health hazards of breathing methyl iodide fumes. He presents the scientific findings and the health impact of exposure to methyl iodide accurately and concisely.
Overall, this reporter does a terrific job of delivering information about this important environmental issue to his readers.