Methyl Bromide Loophole for U.S. Prolongs Ozone Hole

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Fri, 29 Jul 2005 22:01:37 GMT

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Pesticide Action Network North America

 

 

Methyl Bromide Loophole for U.S. Prolongs Ozone Hole

July 29, 2005

 

On July 1, 2005 a dozen nations agreed under the Montreal Protocol on

Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to reduce exemptions for

" critical use " of methyl bromide by 20% in 2006. Methyl bromide is a

powerful ozone depleting chemical, 50 times more destructive to the

ozone layer than chlorine from CFCs (chloroflurocarbons), the other

major class of chemicals targeted by the treaty. In 1987, sixteen

industrial nations, including the U.S., agreed under the Protocol to

end all use of methyl bromide by 2005, and developing countries agreed

to end use in 2015. Instead, use of methyl bromide as a soil fumigant

pesticide has increased in the U.S.

 

The 20% reduction appears to be an environmental victory, but in fact,

U.S. consumption of methyl bromide rose so steeply in 2005 that the

20% " reduction " represents an increase over 2002-2004 levels. The U.S.

walked into the negotiations for 2006 " critical use " exemptions

requesting exemptions to use 37% of its 1991 baseline number (set at

25,528 metric tons), despite the fact that users in the U.S. in 2002

got by with less than 30% of the baseline. The Parties awarded the

U.S. 32% of the 1991 base, and have indicated they will hold nations

to 29% of baseline numbers in 2007. That represents a release in the

U.S. alone, of 7,403 metric tons of methyl bromide into the

atmosphere, a significant " loophole " that serves to prolong the hole

in the ozone.

 

In 1994, the United Nations determined that elimination of methyl

bromide was the most significant remaining action that nations could

take to impact ozone depletion in the next decade. The Montreal

Protocol has nearly eliminated CFCs and until recently, had sharply

reduced methyl bromide use. By 2003, use and release of methyl bromide

had fallen to 30% of 1991 baseline levels in many nations, including

the U.S., which met that target in 2002, a full year ahead of schedule.

 

But in 2004 the Bush administration began to pressure for " critical

use " exemptions (permission to continue using a substance) for methyl

bromide, primarily as a pre-plant fumigant for tomato growers in

Florida and strawberry producers in California. For the treaty's first

decade, critical use exemptions were confined to needs based on

national security or medical uses where there was no alternative, but

in 1997 the Parties to the Protocol allowed economic considerations to

be a factor to justify an exemption for use of methyl bromide.

Environmental groups, including PAN North America, argued at the time

that inclusion of economic challenges would open the door to increased

use of methyl bromide as a soil fumigation pesticide. Unfortunately,

that is exactly what has happened.

 

Instead of completing the methyl bromide phaseout as promised in 2005,

sixteen nations, lead by the U.S., asked for and were granted

exemptions for use of 16,050 metric tons in 2005. The U.S. exemptions

totaled 9,500 metric tons and were by far the largest, allowing the

nation's use in 2005 to increase. In July 2005 the Parties recommended

approval of 13,466 metric tons of methyl bromide for " critical use " in

the developed nations in 2006. Allotments were modest for Australia

(9.25 tons); Canada (2 tons) and Japan (75 tons). The United States

was allowed 8,075 tons; and PAN has learned that the Administration is

already working on a request to continue exemptions in 2007.

 

Another action taken by the Parties in July was aimed, according to

David Doniger of Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), at the U.S.

indulgence towards its users of methyl bromide. It mandated that each

nation should " renew its commitment to ensure " that critical uses are,

in fact, critical. Doniger argues that the U.S. has done exactly the

opposite: " When the U.S. requested critical use exemptions in 2005, it

made no distinction between critical and non critical users. Everyone

in the U.S. using methyl bromide in 2003 used 15% less than the

subgroup of so-called critical users in 2005. " In December of 2004

NRDC sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its handling

of the methyl bromide critical use exemptions; that case is likely to

be heard in the fall.

 

For more information see the website for the UN Environmental

Programme Ozone Secretariat, http://www.unep.org/ozone/index.asp.

 

The PANNA website contains extensive resources and fact sheets on

methyl bromide's use for soil fumigation:

http://www.panna.org/resources/mb.html.

 

Sources: UNEP Report of Second Extraordinary Meeting of the parties to

the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer,

Advance Copy, July 1, 2005, p.4; Associated Press, July 2, 2005;

Background, Critical Use Exemptions for Access to Methyl Bromide, Dept

of the Environment & Heritage, Australian Government,

http://www.deh.gov.au/atmosphere/ozone/methylbromide/criticaluseexempt.html;

PANUPS, December 10, 2004, April 5, 2004; Methyl Bromide Briefing Kit,

1995, Methyl Bromide Alternatives Network, PANNA website;

Contact: PANNA.