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PANUPS: California News Update
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P A N U P S
***
Pesticide Action Network
North America
Updates Service
http://www.panna.org/panna/
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October 18, 1996
California Update: Lompoc Health Study; State Shredding
Records; San Francisco Pesticide Ban
Lompoc Health Study
California state government officials may be attempting to
suppress evidence of pesticide related health risks for
residents of Lompoc, California, according to a scientist
with the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment (OEHHA), a branch of the California Environmental
Protection Agency (CALEPA). OEHHA recently issued a draft
report stating that it found no evidence of increased illness
in Lompoc, despite criticism by scientists who collected data
used in the report. The report was based on an OEHHA study of
pesticide effects on Lompoc-area residents.
Several scientists with the environmental health office
stated that further investigation is needed, and that
examination of the data collected so far does not bear out
the draft report's conclusion that Lompoc residents are safe
>from pesticide exposure. Dr. Robert Holtzer, a medical doctor
with the agency, stated that preliminary findings show
pesticides may be causing high rates of lung and bronchus
cancer and higher than normal instances of respiratory
illnesses for Lompoc residents. Dr. Holtzer and two other
scientists who performed field work in the study refused to
sign their names to the draft report.
Scientists at the California Department of Health Services
also criticized the report, charging that its conclusion is
not justified given limitations with the available data.
Dr. Holtzer asserted that he was told by superiors to ignore
evidence of negative health effects and that senior
environmental officials ordered state scientists to stop
analyzing data from the study. OEHHA officials denied
Holtzer's charges, but admitted that the agency has stopped
working on the Lompoc study.
Local Lompoc health activists and officials were angered by
the allegations of cover-up, and demanded a more thorough
investigation, including air monitoring and human-exposure
assessment. Over the past six years, hundreds of Lompoc
residents have complained of respiratory ailments, sinusitus,
headaches, nausea and stomach pains, which many believe are
caused by pesticides used on nearby broccoli, lettuce and
flower fields.
Health Records to Be Destroyed
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has also
recently come under fire for ordering employees to destroy
internal documents that conflict with the agency's regulatory
decisions. The policy, announced to employees in April 1996,
was disclosed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
in September. OEHHA evaluates chemical pollutants, including
pesticides, and assists California EPA in formulating health
and safety regulations related to chemical use.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the policy states
that "only those . . . communications which are reflected or
embodied in the final decision or final document shall be
kept on file." Other records apparently will be shredded. The
policy has not yet been implemented due to funding
restraints, but the agency's new director intends to
implement it soon.
NRDC denounced the agency for trying to censor scientific
debate over important public health decisions and charged
that the policy violated state freedom-of-information laws.
A spokesperson for California EPA defended the policy,
stating that it is designed to protect scientists' anonymity
and to reduce confusion related to conflicting public
records. NRDC charged that anonymity should be assured
without quashing public evidence of dissent.
Officials at the California Association of Professional
Scientists, an organization of scientists employed by the
State of California, also expressed concern about the policy.
A representative of the association stated that many of the
group's members believe that, as a result of the records-
destruction mandate, "public health could be jeopardized."
San Francisco Bans Pesticides
In other news, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted
unanimously for a sweeping ban of pesticide use in all city
departments, including city buildings and grounds, public
housing, parks and golf courses. The ordinance bans all
pesticides known or believed to cause cancer and those known
to cause reproductive harm by January 1, 1997. The city must
cut in half use of all other pesticides by 1998 and eliminate
all pesticides by 2000.
The ordinance does not apply to schools or school grounds,
which are not considered city departments. In addition, the
Board of Supervisors will provide exceptions for pesticides
it deems necessary to the public health, such as chlorine in
city swimming pools.
The ordinance provides for an Integrated Pest Management
specialist to work with city employees in the transition away
>from toxic pesticides. It also requires that the city keep
careful records of pesticide use, and that warning signs be
posted from four days prior until four days after pesticide
applications.
The new law is one of the toughest pesticide ordinances in
the U.S., according to Pesticide Watch Education Fund, an
advocacy group that fought to pass the ban. A representative
of the group stated that more than two tons of pesticides are
sprayed by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department
every year, and that 60 pesticide active ingredients are used
by the city. Approximately half of these chemicals are
believed to cause cancer, genetic damage or harm to the
reproductive system.
Sources: The Independent, October 4, 1996; "San Francisco
Board of Supervisors Passes Landmark Pesticide Ordinance to
Protect Public Health," Pesticide Watch Education Fund Press
Release, October 15, 1996; San Francisco Chronicle, October 1
and October 8, 1996; Santa Barbara News-Press, September 7,
1996; Wall Street Journal, October 2, 1996.
Contacts: 1) Natural Resources Defense Council, 71 Stevenson,
#1825, San Francisco, CA 94105; phone (415) 777-0220; fax
(415) 495-5996; http://www.nrdc.org. 2) PANNA (see below).3)
Pesticide Watch Education Fund, 116 New Montgomery, Suite
530, San Francisco, CA 94105; phone (415) 543-2627; fax (415)
543-1480; email pestiwatch@igc.org.
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