i'm blind and got melanoma, but these strawberries sure are juicy

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Environmental Investigation Agency

Posted by: Environmental Investigation Agency - archive

Posted on: Jun 2, 2005 @ 2:31 pm

Washington, DC, June 2, 2005: Despite alarming new evidence of severe

ozone layer thinning and doubling of childhood skin cancer rates, the

California Strawberry Commission will lead efforts to continue massive

commercial use of the potent ozone depleting pesticide, methyl

bromide, at a global meeting on ozone layer protection later this

month.

 

Because of the threat methyl bromide presents to the ozone layer, the

international community agreed to halt its use in the developed world

by January 1, 2005, allowing only a narrow exception for uses deemed

“critical.†However, due to intense pressure from the strawberry

lobby, the US government is allowing over 4.6 million pounds of methyl

bromide to be applied to strawberry fields this year. “It’s methyl

bromide business as usual for the California Strawberry Commission

despite a more damaged ozone layer and increased skin cancers for the

rest of us,†stated Juge Gregg, senior campaigner for the

Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

 

The strawberry industry’s demands to continue widespread use of methyl

bromide come at a particularly perilous time for the ozone layer. Last

month the scientific journal Nature reported that “the biggest ozone

losses ever recorded over the Arctic†occurred this year and warned

that “the spectre of an Arctic ozone hole looms.†Ozone depleted air

created in the Arctic can drift over populated areas in the northern

hemisphere and may have profound implications for people living in

North America.

 

The ozone layer protects life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV)

radiation. Increases in UV radiation due to a thinning ozone layer may

cause skin cancer, cataracts, harm the immune system and upset the

fragile balance of entire ecosystems.

“The California Strawberry Commission is gambling with children’s

health and that’s an unacceptable bet. Kids are at particular risk

from the elevated levels of radiation reaching the earth’s surface as

the ozone layer thins,†said Gregg. Rates of pediatric melanoma in the

U.S. more than doubled between 1982 and 2002.

The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that 80 percent or more of a person

’s lifetime UV exposure occurs before age 20. Just one blistering

sunburn during childhood can double a person’s risk of skin cancer

later in life.

Governments will meet June 27 to negotiate the latest phase of the

Montreal Protocol treaty, to which 188 countries are signatories. At

the meeting the U.S. will be seeking exemptions to use more methyl

bromide than the rest of the developed world combined. EIA will

advocate at the meeting for U.S. exemptions for the strawberry

industry and other agricultural special interests to be dramatically

reduced.

 

 

---ENDS---

t Details:

 

Allan Thornton

President

EIA US

Tel: (w) (202) 483-6621

Cell: (202) 361-6941

usinfo

 

R. Juge Gregg

Senior Campaigner

EIA US

Tel: (202) 483-6621

Cell: (202) 276-7297

jugegregg

 

Editor’s Notes:

 

• EIA is an independent, international non-profit organization

committed to investigating and exposing environmental crimes around

the world. EIA works undercover to expose international environmental

crime – such as the illegal trade in wildlife, illegal logging and

trade in timber species, and the worldwide trade in ozone depleting

substances. EIA has been actively tracking the global illegal trade in

ozone depleting substances (ODS) since the mid-1990s to provide

information to the Montreal Protocol and other relevant bodies.

 

• The Montreal Protocol was agreed on January 1, 1987 and is now

ratified by 188 countries. Under the Montreal Protocol and its

amendments, ozone-depleting substances are to be reduced and

eliminated through the development of chemical substitutes and

alternative manufacturing processes (elimination is the final

objective). Methyl bromide was scheduled to be phased out in 2005 in

developed countries, except for certain exemptions agreed to by the

Parties.

 

• The Parties to the Montreal Protocol will be meeting in Montreal,

Canada from June 27 to July 1, 2005.

 

• The Environmental Protection Agency warns that the continued use of

methyl bromide as an agricultural pesticide may contribute 5-15% to

future ozone depletion if it is not phased out. Recent studies suggest

that methyl bromide’s effectiveness in destroying the ozone layer may

actually be even greater.

 

• California is the nation's leading producer of strawberries. In

2003, growers harvested an average 1.8 billion pounds of strawberries,

which accounted for 88% of the country's total fresh and frozen

strawberry production.

 

• According to the American Cancer Society, the incidence rate of

melanoma is increasing at a rate of 3% each year. Currently, an

estimated 66,000 deaths occur annually from melanoma and other skin

cancers. Every year, there are between two and three million new cases

of non-melanoma skin cancers and more than 130,000 new melanoma skin

cancer cases diagnosed worldwide. In the U.S., skin cancer kills one

American every hour and one in five will develop skin cancer in their

lifetime.

 

• The Nature article cited entitled, “Arctic trends scrutinized as

chilly winter destroys ozone,†was published in Volume 435 on May 5,

2005.

 

• The EU, Japan and most developing countries oppose excessive U.S.

demands to continue using methyl bromide past phase-out. There are

proven alternatives to methyl bromide that are being used worldwide

and in the United States.

 

 

Those who control the past, control the future; Those who control the future,

control the present; Those who control the present, control the past.^