Californians for Pesticide Reform has launched an assault on the state’s regulation of agricultural fumigants 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) and chloropicrin, calling on the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to issue stronger guidelines for the use of these extremely toxic chemicals, especially near schools and nearby farming communities.
Advocates for public health and farmworker safety gathered last month in Watsonville, Modesto, Oxnard and Fresno to protest the state’s recently issued rules at events that were livestreamed statewide.
Gabriela Facio of Sierra Club California kicked off the events with an overview of the problem at hand. “Our communities are more than alarmed about the weak regulation of 1,3-D recently finalized by the Department of Pesticide Regulation.”…