WASHINGTON, DC — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) dice que está poniendo fin al uso de endosulfán en los Estados Unidos, según AP. El pesticida ya ha sido prohibido en 60 países, aunque todavía se usa en Australia. El uso de endosulfán ha sido limitado en los EE. UU. Desde 2002; La producción ahora será eliminada por el fabricante Makhteshim Agan de América del Norte (MANA). MANA está en conversaciones con la EPA para elaborar los detalles de un plan que eliminará gradualmente el uso de endosulfán con el tiempo y, al mismo tiempo, brindará a los productores opciones para avanzar hacia otras prácticas de control de plagas.
The insecticide, used on cotton and some fruits and vegetables, has been said to cause nerve damage in farm workers through inhalation or skin contact, as well as present a hazard to wildlife. Endosulfan, first registered in the 1950’s, is marketed exclusively by MANA under the brand names Thionex 3EC and Thionex 50W. MANA will announce the final timetable for Thionex to producers and agrochemical retailers in the coming weeks.
Hace dos años, varios grupos de trabajadores y defensores del medio ambiente demandaron a la EPA por volver a registrar el endosulfán.
In a press release, Raleigh, North Carolina, US-based MANA stated: “From a scientific standpoint, MANA continues to disagree fundamentally with EPA’s conclusions regarding endosulfan and believes that key uses are still eligible for re-registration,” said Scott Rawlins, MANA director of global governmental and industry relations. “The Agency has made a number of overly conservative and unrealistic assumptions about how endosulfan is used that do not reflect the best available science.
“However, given the fact that the endosulfan market is quite small and the cost of developing and submitting additional data high, we have decided to voluntarily negotiate an agreement with EPA that provides growers with an adequate time frame to find alternatives for the damaging insect pests currently controlled by endosulfan,” Rawlins said.