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The Bush Administration Undermines International Treaty That Would Ban the Pesticide After working on some of the country's most fertile fields, Jorge Fernández and Guillermo Ruiz live barren lives. For 12 years, both men worked in dozens of fields in California and Arizona with one of the most dangerous pesticides known to man - methyl bromide. Today, Jorge and Guillermo's health is devastated. They both complain of blurred vision, head, throat, ear and abdomen aches, in addition to rashes. The EPA rates methyl bromide among the most powerful class of toxic chemicals.1 In California alone, 18 people have died and hundreds have been poisoned by it.2 Both Jorge and Guillermo have ended up disabled and blame methyl bromide and their former bosses, who did not follow safety rules for its application, for their misfortune. "I was never informed that this was harmful," says Jorge, who has been unable to work since September 2003. "Now I know that after cutting the tarps that cover the fields, we should have waited 24 hours before removing them. But they would send us in right away." Guillermo, who has also been out of work since September 2003, says, "They would just give us a pair of plastic pants and a paper mask which provided no protection. There were days when I could not speak because within a couple of hours the gas would burn your throat." It was the devastating effects of methyl bromide on the ozone layer, which protects us from the sun's dangerous ultra violet rays, that led 166 nations to sign the Montreal Protocol in 1987.3 This pact, one of the most important environmental victories in history, mandated that its signatories completely phase out methyl bromide, except in extraordinary cases, by 2005. But the Bush administration is once again undermining international cooperation and agreements. Earlier this year the administration requested exemptions from the treaty that would allow the continued use of thousands of pounds of methyl bromide, especially in agricultural fields.4 In March, the administration was granted these exemptions, at least for this year. So now instead of phasing out this poison, workers like Jorge and Guillermo will continue applying it - even though there are viable alternatives for 95 percent of the uses of methyl bromide.5 For the chemical producers and agribusiness this is a windfall. The Gottwald family, the owners of Albemarle, one of the largest manufacturers of methyl bromide, donated $345,000 to Bush and the Republican Party between 2000 and 2002.6 And agribusiness gave $2.7 million to the Bush campaign in 2000.7 According to a Pesticide Action Network study, the average American carries unhealthy levels of pesticides, with Mexican-Americans, like Jorge and Guillermo, showing disproportionately high levels.8 "We get to do this job just because we are Mexicans," Jorge says. "Why doesn't Mr. Bush come and do it instead?" For more information about methyl bromide contact: California Rural Legal Assistance Pesticide Action Network
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