Corners cut in pesticide approval

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Subject:     Corners cut in pesticide approval: Watchdog..............
     Date:     Thu, 09 Oct 2003
    From:     Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
          Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation 

Oct. 8, 2003. 01:00 AM
Corners cut in pesticide approval: Watchdog
VALERIE LAWTON
OTTAWA BUREAU

 OTTAWA—The government is putting Canadians at risk by cutting corners in approving new pesticides and taking far too long to look at whether old ones are dangerous, says the federal environmental watchdog.

"Canadians shouldn't take it for granted that pesticides available on the market are safe because the work that needs to be done to ensure that safety hasn't been done," said Johanne Gélinas, commissioner of the environment and sustainable development.

Gélinas told a news conference yesterday that she is "appalled" by what her officials have uncovered at the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, which is supposed to protect public health.

"Everything we looked at was weak or was broken," she said.

In a new report, the commissioner warns that many of the oldest pesticides still in use — some dating back to the 1950s — still haven't been re-evaluated against current safety standards.

The agency, a branch of Health Canada, has promised to review 400 older pesticides by 2006.

However, only 6 have been fully re-evaluated, according to the report.

Findings from those few pesticides that have been tested offer little reassurance about the rest officials have yet to look at.

All of the evaluated pesticides were either banned or had their permitted uses restricted.

"It is likely that some old pesticides on the market do not meet the current standards and, therefore, threaten public health and the environment," said Gélinas.

The agency made a commitment to review eight widely used lawn pesticides by 2001, but is still working on five of those.

"Many Canadians continue to use those pesticides, even though they don't know if the risks are acceptable," the commissioner said.

The report also raises concerns about federal officials routinely skipping steps before clearing new pesticides for sale and allowing some products on the market even though crucial information is missing.

Some pesticides are sold even though officials don't have adequate information on how toxic it is to invertebrates and non-target plants, the impact it may have on children's nervous systems or what happens after it is released into the environment.

In one case, a scientific review of a pesticide used in pressure-treated wood was completed in only 17 days by skipping some steps, instead of 550 days. The product was granted temporary approval and is currently in use.

A check of 30 recent files showed that more than half the time, evaluators skipped steps in the approval process.

Gélinas is clearly frustrated that her repeated warnings about the slow progress of checking older products have been ignored.

"This is the fourth time since 1988 that we have raised the issue of progress on re-evaluations.

"However, the federal government still cannot ensure that the older pesticides we are using are safe."

She said it's clear that pesticides are "a very low priority."

Health Minister Anne McLellan said yesterday that looking at older pesticides is a priority. She contradicted the commissioner's findings, insisting that 61 of 405, rather than six, evaluations are complete, and added that the rest should be complete by 2006 or 2007.

McLellan also insisted that pesticides for sale in Canada are safe "because every pesticide on the market goes through a rigorous scientific analysis."

Original Article http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1065564609757&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467

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