GAO Cites Need for State Pesticide Illness Monitoring Systems

Beyond Pesticides 21mar01

[First See: Pesticides: Use, Effects, and Alternatives to Pesticides in Schools GAO 29nov99]

ITEM: GAO Testimony Cites Need for State Pesticide Illness Monitoring Systems FACT: Only nine states currently have laws that require the collection of this pesticide illness data.

ACTION NEEDED: State adoption of pesticide incident monitoring programs.

Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP is alerting members of medical groups, environmental organizations as well as concerned citizens about the need to campaign for pesticide-monitoring legislation in their own states. Pesticide-induced illness is a serious public health issue given the widespread use of these chemicals. In general, policy makers are unable to adequately evaluate the health impact of pesticide exposure because pesticide poisoning is not a reportable medical or health event. Nine states, Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington, have addressed this issue through development of programs that require the collection of pesticide illness reports. The Maryland State Legislature currently is considering legislation that would establish a pesticide illness reporting and education program through the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. For more information about Maryland’s proposed Pesticide Illness Reporting and Education bill go to: http://www.beyondpesticides.org/PIR_legislation.htm

Meanwhile, the federal government has not been collecting this kind of information and is not expected to take on this function. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did have a Pesticide Incident Monitoring System for over a decade, from 1978 until 1981. Since that time, the federal government has been relying on states to conduct these programs to protect their residents and, in some cases, to assist in regulatory deliberations on pesticide safety. In a 1995 report, Pesticides: EPA’s Efforts to Collect and Take Action on Exposure Incident Data, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) said, “According to EPA staff, data on incidents of exposure played a significant part in 19 instances in which the agency took measures to protect the public health between 1989 and 1994.”

In a 2000 report, Pesticides: Improvements Needed to Ensure the Safety of Farmworkers and Their Children, GAO clearly spells out the deficiencies in the federal data collection system and concludes, “Officials from these agencies that collect data on pesticide illnesses confirmed that a lack of comprehensive national data exists . . . for the general population. . .” The report then explains the deficiencies associated with the range of databases that EPA uses to indicate the extent of acute pesticide incidents and illnesses. It cites four databases, including the American Association of Poison Control Centers, Section 6(a)(2) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, the National Pesticide Telecommunications Network, and the California Pesticide Illness Surveillance Program.

John Stephenson, Director of the Natural Resources and Environment team of GAO, and Jay Feldman, Executive Director of Beyond Pesticides, testified in support of Maryland’s proposed pesticide illness reporting and education legislation, Senate Bill 654. Click here to see the testimony of John Stephenson and Jay Feldman.

For more information contact:

Greg Kidd
Legal and Science Policy Director
Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides (NCAMP)
701 E Street, S.E., Suite 200
Washington, DC 20003
phone: 202-543-5450
fax: 202-543-4791
gkidd@beyondpesticides.org 
www.beyondpesticides.org