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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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