Op-ed: California needs to quit ignoring the public health and climate cost of pesticides

Op-ed: California needs to quit ignoring the public health and climate cost of pesticides

For too long the state has allowed undue regulatory influence by pesticide companies.

It's a pesticide called 1,3-Dichloropropene that's commonly sold under the brand name Telone.


And although it's largely unknown outside agricultural circles, 1,3-D has an outsized footprint. In 1990, state regulators banned use of the carcinogenic pesticide after unsafe levels were found in the air.

Yet in 2018, the most recent year for which we have records, California used more than 12.5 million pounds of 1,3-D and detected it at levels more than three times higher than those that triggered the 1990 ban.

How is this possible? Because California's Department of Pesticide Regulation backtracked on commitments to ban and limit 1,3-D's use, and in 1995 began to reinstate its use under a plan in coordination with the manufacturer Dow. That's why a state court of appeals this month agreed with farmworkers and pesticide reform advocates that state regulators can't rely on underground rulemaking, improperly influenced by industry, to regulate 1,3-D's use.

Related: The reckless embrace of banned pesticides in the US

The pesticide's heavy use is made even more troubling because of its tendency – like many fumigants – to "off-gas" into the air after application. Yet California has chosen to completely ignore the escalating climate and health costs of those pesticides.

Even as state regulators lay out California's 2022 vision for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change, they have refused, so far, to account for the growing global warming contribution of pesticides.

That must change. The United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released its sixth report confirming that we're already in a climate crisis and must do more to fight climate change.

Soil health 

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 50% to 100% of applied pesticides end up in the soil. And soils are the largest terrestrial store of carbon on the planet, playing an essential role in drawing carbon down from the atmosphere into the Earth where it can't act as a greenhouse gas.

The process of storing carbon in the soil is carried out by millions of subterranean species in the soil, from microscopic organisms to earthworms. When soil life is damaged it harms the ability of the soil to suck up carbon.

The largest-ever analysis of pesticides' impacts on soil found significant harm to beneficial, soil-dwelling invertebrates, including earthworms, ants, beetles, and ground nesting bees in 71% of cases reviewed in nearly 400 studies.

But although millions of acres of land in California are treated with nearly 200 million pounds of pesticides each year, the impact of pesticides on soil health is almost completely overlooked.

Impacts to farmworkers 

Fumigants, like 1-3,D not only pose dangerous threats to soils, they threaten the health of farmworkers and nearby communities. Soil fumigants are particularly dangerous because after killing soil organisms they often move to the air at levels that can trigger almost immediate adverse health effects in people.

And these fumigants can travel far. Just last year state regulators found 1,3-D in the air at high levels that significantly increase cancer risk up to seven and a half miles away from the closest known application sites.

Most of our Central Valley counties fail air pollution standards for ozone and particulate matter, which aggravate asthma and result in premature deaths. Yet pesticides like 1,3-D that can produce ozone and particulate matter are still used widely in those same counties.

Researchers at the California Environmental Protection Agency found that pesticides were the pollutants with the greatest racial and income disparities in exposure in the state.

Greenhouse gas emissions 

Beyond their immediate harms, many commonly-used fumigants result in increased emissions of nitrous oxide, an often-overlooked greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Taken together, certain pesticides used to fumigate soils can result in a seven-to-eight-fold increase in nitrous oxide greenhouse gas pollution.

And Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in pesticides – tens of millions of pounds of which are used each year in California – react with sunlight and nitrogen oxides to create tropospheric ozone, the third most significant greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane.

For too long the state has allowed undue regulatory influence by pesticide companies.

Our state leaders must firmly reverse course and aggressively address the climate and health threats posed by our ever-expanding pesticide uses.

Nathan Donley, Ph.D., who co-authored the recent soils study, is the Center for Biological Diversity's environmental health science director.

Sarah Aird is Co-Director of the statewide coalition Californians for Pesticide Reform.

Banner photo: Strawberry harvest in California. (Credit: Tim Mossholder/Unsplash/Unsplash)

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have violated pollution laws are seeking permit renewals

One facility has emitted cancer-causing chemicals into waterways at levels up to 520% higher than legal limits.

HOUSTON — Multiple Houston-area oil and gas facilities that have previously violated the pollution limits in their permits have recently applied for new federal operating permits or renewals.

These facilities include the Chevron Pasadena Refining facility, the LyondellBasell Houston refinery, and the Chevron Phillips Chemical Sweeny Complex in Brazoria County, all of which are seeking renewed Title V permits.

Keep reading...Show less
silhouette of wind turbines during sunset.

17 states sue Trump administration over blocked wind energy development

Seventeen Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C., are suing the Trump administration for halting wind energy projects on public lands and waters, citing harm to energy diversification efforts.

Rachel Frazin reports for The Hill.

Keep reading...Show less
Industrial buildings and smokestacks on the coast with mountains and sunset in the background.

EPA plans to dismantle key offices overseeing climate and air pollution regulation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will dissolve two main offices responsible for regulating greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, signaling a broad retreat from federal climate oversight.

Jean Chemnick reports for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
The dome of the U.S. senate building.

House Republicans push sweeping fossil fuel expansion in budget bill

Lawmakers are preparing to fast-track legislation that would expand mining and fossil fuel leasing while rolling back environmental reviews and clean energy incentives.

Garrett Downs reports for E&E News.

Keep reading...Show less
A graphic image of a brain with arms and legs walking out of a city pulling a suitcase.

Europe steps up funding to attract U.S. scientists facing cuts under Trump

As the Trump administration reduces research funding and tightens restrictions on universities, European leaders are offering financial incentives to lure American scientists.

Catherine Porter and Roger Cohen report for The New York Times.

Keep reading...Show less
white university building near trees with fall foliage during daytime.

Scientists worldwide pledge to support U.S. colleagues facing political attacks on climate research

More than 18,000 researchers gathered in Austria to discuss climate science and vow solidarity amid increasing political pressure and funding cuts in the U.S.

Bob Berwyn reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Australian suburban houses with solar panels on roofs

Analysis: Australia’s voters give Labor a mandate to speed up the renewable energy transition

Australia’s landslide election result signals public support for faster renewable energy growth and leaves the Labor government poised to make bigger climate policy moves.

Adam Morton writes for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

Regulators are underestimating health impacts from air pollution: Study

"The reality is, we are not exposed to one chemical at a time.”

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.