Environmental Health Reports

Broken Trust: How Cal-EPA has Kept Californians in the Dark about 66 Reproductive Toxins

8/6/1997

Executive Summary

As the new home of CALPIRG's environmental work, Environment California can be contacted with any questions regarding this report.

Under counsel of the Natural Resources Defense Council, member organizations of Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR) filed legal action against Cal-EPA's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment on August 6, 1997 for failure to list 66 toxicants under the state's toxic right to know law. All of the 66 compounds included in the lawsuit have been identified as reproductive or developmental toxins by U.S. EPA; almost all of them are pesticides. While Cal-EPA continues to ignore state law, depriving millions of Californians of their right to know when and where they are exposed to these birth-defect/reproductive disorder causing chemicals, exposure is likely to be widespread, perhaps commonplace. As this report documents, millions of pounds of these toxicants are used every year in California agriculture and are sold to unsuspecting Californians in popular over-the-counter household products.

Unfortunately the use of the non-listed pesticides documented in this report is part of a larger problem of increasing pesticide use in California. Statewide, total pesticide use has gone up 31% between 1991 and 1995 (CDPR Pesticide Use Reports), despite the presence of available alternative pest control practices. Worse, the use of highly toxic carcinogens and reproductive toxins, long known to pose risk to human and environmental health, continue to be widely used; for many, use increases annually.

In the face of this growing proliferation of toxic chemicals, 57 public interest organizations have banded together, forming Californians for Pesticide Reform. Following the lead of many European nations, CPR is committed to turning the corner on pesticide use in California, phasing out the use of the most hazardous toxins and reducing over-all pesticide use wherever possible.

Get Involved:
If you're concerned about pesticides used in your homes, schools, parks, offices or in your community, call CPR toll free at 1 888 CPR 4880.

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