The Hawaii state Senate is currently holding discussions about SB3095, HD1. This modest piece of legislation aims to regulate large-scale users of Restricted Use Pesticides (RUPs) and protect our keiki. The bill protects our families and children by banning chlorpyrifos, a highly toxic pesticide that severely impacts brain development in children, as well as imposing the first-ever mandatory no-spray zones around schools.
Members of the community who have sought such protections over the years are watching with anxious expectation.
Some may be disappointed that the no-spray zone is just 100 feet. Sure, it would be great if we had larger no-spray zones. But, remember, we had nothing — until now. And 100 feet is the minimum: companies will have to abide by larger no-spray zones if required on the pesticide labels.
Let’s not lose sight of what the bill could deliver: minimum mandatory no-spray zones around schools, and a phased-in ban on the use of chlorpyrifos — measures that will protect our families. That’s something we should welcome enthusiastically.
And that’s why we should urge our senators to please accept SB3095, HD1, with no further changes.
This bill includes a ban on chlorpyrifos and a no-spray zone around all schools during school hours. It also requires large-scale agricultural operations (those that use over 35 pounds or 35 gallons of RUPs a year) to disclose what they are using, and where.
The chemical companies and the largest pesticide-dependent corporate ag interests claim that “this is going to hurt small farmers” or “we can’t grow food without these chemicals.” Not true.
The fact is, we aren’t talking about micro-managing small farmers. We are talking about responsible regulation of the 1.5 percent of farm operations in the state that account for 99.5 percent of the RUP use in the state.
I crunched the 2015-2017 RUP sales record data from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture. There were 7,000 farms operating in Hawaii during the time period, with 3,500 citing farming as their primary source of income. Of that 3,500, 3,400 don’t use RUPs at all. Only 106 agricultural operations bought RUPs in 2017. Of those 106, about half use RUPs pretty sparingly.
But then there’s a jump into thousands of pounds or gallons a year. The top TWO RUP users used 25,000 and 35,000 gallons last year, while the majority use 5, 10 or 15. So, the bill’s disclosure requirements would only affect about 45 operations: 45 of the largest, most profitable ag operations, who use over 99.5 percent of all RUPs in the state.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the Hawaii State Teachers Association, the state-funded Joint Fact Finding report, all clearly recommend these protections while the Farm Bureau, and the Hawaii Crop Improvement Association speak for the 45 operations. They say they want to protect small farmers, but small farmers don’t use RUPs in quantities that would be regulated by the bill. We need protection from the threats posed by the heaviest users, not small farmers.
Chlorpyrifos: A phased-in
ban makes sense
This week we had the world’s leading expert on chlorpyrifos, Dr. Virginia Rauh from Columbia University, in Hawaii to discuss the scientific evidence related to the adverse effects of exposure to this chemical. In her recent article “Polluting Developing Brains-EPA Failure on Chlorpyrifos” in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Rauh pointed out that organophosphate chemicals, including chlorpyrifos, were “first introduced as nerve-gas agents during World War II and later repurposed by chemical companies as insecticides and other pesticides.”
Her view is that “after decades of risk assessment showing increasing evidence of threats to human health, and children’s safety in particular,” a ban on chlorpyrifos is logical.
Of the 3,500 entities mentioned earlier, only 39 purchased a chlorpyrifos-based RUP. Many of those farms are the same ones who made the list of the top 45 users of RUPs.
Chlorpyrifos has been proven to permanently reduce cognitive capacity, and cause developmental delays even when children or their pregnant mothers are exposed to really small amounts. It was already banned from home use, and was on route to being banned outright by the EPA, until Scott Pruitt stepped in and reversed course.
Chlorpyrifos has been found in the air at Waimea Canyon Middle School.
How many children will continue to be exposed to this neurotoxin if we fail to act on the science and follow through on the phased-in ban promised in SB3095, HD1?
I respectfully implore our senators: Please agree to the House version of SB 3095. Do it for our keiki. They are counting on you. We are all counting on you.
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Autumn Rae Ness is an advisory board member of the Hawaii Center for Food Safety.