Fumigant methyl iodide finally applied in California

The fumigant methyl iodide (Midas, Arysta LifeScience) was applied commercially for the first time in California this past week on a one-acre chili pepper field near Fresno.

According to a story in the Fresno Bee, the county’s agricultural commissioner, Carol Hafner said: “Everything went fine. For us, it was business as usual.” Members of Earthjustice, a nonprofit law firm in Oakland that had petitioned EPA to protest the registration of Midas, said they were not aware that methyl iodide had been applied in Fresno County, the newspaper reported.

The comment period with EPA on the petition from Earthjustice drew to a close May 13. The petition was submitted to the agency last March and requested all registrations of Midas be suspended, claiming new data had been generated since EPA’s initial registration in 2007. However, according to a press release from Arysta, no new data has been presented to date that was not already considered or reviewed during the EPA’s registration lengthy and thorough review process.

The comment period did draw an outpouring of support from the agricultural community and California state legislators. A 22-signature letter from Republican Assembly leader Connie Conway and her colleagues was submitted to the EPA in support of Midas, and California State Senator Jean Fuller submitted a letter in support as well. The EPA received 50 individual letters in support of Midas registration. The national organizations represented among those in support were CropLife America, the Agricultural Retailers Association, the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, National Hmong-American Farmers Inc. and the Society of American Florists.