Over 57 million pounds of pesticides are used in agriculture annually in the Great Lakes basin. About two-thirds of all pesticides used are applied on field crops (mainly corn and soybeans), while the remaining third is used on fruits and vegetables (1). In Wisconsin, intense pesticide use has resulted in the contamination of groundwater, the source of drinking water for 75% of Wisconsin's citizens. In addition to groundwater, pesticides are found in surface water, rainwater, air, soil, food and the bodies of humans and wildlife throughout the Great Lakes basin. Over half of the total number of pesticides used in the Great Lakes basin fall into at least one of the following hazard categories of concern: probable or possible human carcinogens; EPA toxicity category I (high acute toxicity to applicators, farm workers and others who may be exposed); high acute hazards to birds, aquatic organisms, or mammals; groundwater contaminants; and potential reproductive or endocrine system disrupters. (Endocrine disrupting chemicals mimic or interfere with the body's natural chemical messengers and can disrupt normal development.) (2) Children and infants are especially vulnerable. As the U.S. National Research Council stated, "there are special windows of vulnerability" in the lives of infants and children - brief periods early in development when exposure to a toxicant can permanently alter the structure or function of their organ systems. Beyond those concerns about specific health effects lie additional worries. Pesticides currently used in the basin may greatly reduce populations of organisms beneficial to crop growth and health, and residues of some pesticides can damage crops used in rotations. (3) In 1980, Aldicarb, a carcinogenic potato herbicide was discovered in Wisconsin's groundwater, which heightened citizen's awareness of drinking water threats. Since that time, numerous studies have been conducted documenting the extent of pesticide contamination to Wisconsin's surface and groundwaters. For example, groundwater monitoring by the Department of Agriculture have discovered that over one million acres of land are contaminated by Atrazine, a possible human carcinogen used to control weeds in corn. To address these concerns, Wisconsin developed the 1984 Groundwater Law, a model state framework to protect groundwater, the source of drinking water for over 75% of Wisconsin's residents and nearly all its rural residents. This law sets an Enforcement Standard (ES) and Preventive Action Level (PAL) for each groundwater contaminant and in some cases their metabolites, and establishes a mechanism for groundwater monitoring and subsequent legal actions when contamination exceeds the ES. The extensive groundwater monitoring program has created multi-agency support for groundwater protection and has made the public more aware of the threats to our water supply. Wisconsin and all Great Lakes states, urgently needs to reduce pesticide use. But since 1994, Wisconsin, like many states, has suffered serious attacks to its environmental programs and laws. Wisconsin's powerful agri-chemical lobby has effectively blocked laws that curb pesticide use. The Repulican led state legislature gutted the Public Intervenor's Office that had fought to protect citizen's rights to clean water since its creation by Republican Governor, Warren Knowles in the late 1960's. The Public Intervenor's Office was the first to take legal action against DDT and Wisconsin subsequently, became first state to ban DDT. In 1997, two opportunities will provide a chance to debate weakening of environmental laws that regulate pesticides. The first will be public hearings on a bill that will weaken the Atrazine Rule (known as LRB 5795/1), the second are hearings to debate the revision of DATCP 29, the regulatory framework for pesticide use in Wisconsin. Citizens who care about environmental protection and health issues need to get involved on these two issues. For more information, contact WI Environmental Decade at (608)251-7020.
1. Attempts at weakening the Atrazine Rule - Public Hearings Winter, 1997 An effort begun last year by Representative Brandemuehl (R-Fennimore) to address a constituent's complaints of not being able to use Atrazine ( a ubiquitous, carcinogenic corn herbicide, contaminating over 1 million acres in Wisconsin) has resulted in a bill (LRB 5795/1) that if passed will not only weaken DATCP's authority to limit Atrazine use - but weaken their authority to regulate pesticides.
Atrazine, is one of the most widely used pesticides, and is a possible human carcinogen and potential reproductive and endocrine disrupter. It has been identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as posing a high risk to aquatic organisms.
At a hearing held last spring, DATCP staff and board opposed this bill, which nonetheless was passed out of the Assembly Agriculture Committee last year. Because of Wisconsin's Administrative Procedure Act, this bill will be introduced and face the legislature in January, 1997. Depending on commitee chair assignments and the control of the State Legislature, public hearings to consider this may be held early in the year.
2. Attempts at weakening the Pesticide Rule - Public Hearings Spring 1997 An advisory committee was put together this summer to suggest changes to DATCP 29, the administrative rule which regulates both agricultural and urban pesticide use. (Environmental and public health interests were dramatically underrepresented). Upon advice by this committee, a draft rule is now being drafted that will be taken out to public hearings in March or April, 1997. This draft rule may contain several notable changes. For example, agricultural pesticide users want to eliminate current laws that require them to notify the public of pesticide application by posting property along roadways. Environmentalists will fight such weakening of posting requirements. We will suggest stricter notifications, especially to protect against children's and women's health. There will be a debate over the prohibition of lawn chemicals in "sensitive areas" (e.g. where children and others with immune sensitivity may be exposed -schools, day care, recreational areas, nursing homes).
Notes
1. World Wildlife Fund, Reducing Reliance on Pesticides in Great Lakes Basin Agriculture (Washington, D.C., 1996).
2. World Wildlife Fund, Reducing Reliance on Pesticides in Great Lakes Basin Agriculture (Washington, D.C., 1996).
3. National Research Council, Boards on Agriculture and Environmental Studies and Toxicology Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children (Washington D.C.: National Academy Press, 1993), page 3.