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P A N U P S
Pesticide Action Network Updates Service
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Pesticide Drift Bill Should Become Law
September 7, 2004

A California bill that could provide relief to victims of pesticide drift is
awaiting signature by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The Pesticide Drift
Exposure
Response Act, SB 391 (Florez), will provide for improved response to pesticide
drift incidents and pay the medical bills of victims of exposure. Call, write
or
email the Governor today and urge him to sign SB391.

In recent years California has seen an increase in acute poisonings resulting
from
pesticide drift. Frequently the communities most affected by pesticide drift
are
low income communities with limited access to medical care.

Last year Lamont, in the San Joaquin Valley, endured two consecutive nights of
pesticide poisoning. On Friday, October 3, 2003, 24 residents complained of
burning
eyes, headaches, nausea and vomiting after a nearby field was treated with the
fumigant chloropicrin, which drifted from the field and into the town. Police
on
the scene told residents to air out their homes and call 911 again if they
felt
sick, but there was no investigation to determine the cause of the symptoms.
The
next evening chloropicrin was again applied to the other side of the same
field and
144 people experienced similar symptoms. Had there been an adequate response
and
investigation on the first night, the second exposure could have been avoided.

Two weeks after the Lamont incident California State Senator Dean Florez, who
represents much of the San Joaquin Valley, began a series of hearings with
residents of Lamont and other communities impacted by major drift incidents.
The
hearings revealed the need for an improved protocol for responding to drift
incidents and the need for compensation of medical costs for victims.

The Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act, SB 391, would address these two
deficiencies. Under the bill, the responsible pesticide applicator would
shoulder
the cost of immediate, uncompensated medical costs incurred by the victims of
pesticide drift. SB 391 will also provide for improved emergency response by
expanding existing emergency management plans for hazardous materials to
include
protocols for pesticide drift incidents.

This summer SB 391 met strong opposition from the agro-chemical industry. The
version passed by the state legislature did not include an important pilot
project
to allow online access to information about especially hazardous and
restricted use
pesticides (RUPs) that growers are planning to apply. This system would have
allowed first responders (as well as the general public) immediate access to
information that growers are already required to file on RUPs in a given area.
The
bill also would have set up programs to train emergency and medical personnel
to
appropriately respond to drift incidents.

Even in its current form, the Pesticide Drift Exposure Act is an important
step in
the right direction, providing compensation for victims and raising the
profile of
this serious risk to public health in the Central Valley and other
agricultural
areas.

Please contact Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and urge him to sign SB 391
(Florez),
the Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act! (Sample message below.)

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:
Phone: (916) 445-2841
Fax: (916) 445-4633
To send an email, visit: http://www.govmail.ca.gov

I'm calling/writing in support of SB 391, the Pesticide Drift Exposure
Response
Act, and to ask Governor Schwarzenegger to sign SB 391. This bill intends to
ensure
that victims of pesticide drift receive appropriate information, response and
respect. Thank you.

Sources: PANUPS, Pesticide Drift Sickens Residents, Jan. 16, 2004; PANUPS,
Pesticide Drift Poisons in Central Valley, May 14, 2004.
Contact: Californians for Pesticide Reform, (415) 981-3939 ext 5, email
andrea@....

PANUPS is a weekly email news service providing resource guides and reporting
on
pesticide issues that don't always get coverage by the mainstream media. It's
produced by Pesticide Action Network North America, a non-profit and
non-governmental organization working to advance sustainable alternatives to
pesticides worldwide.

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