Chuck Raasch ,
USA
American Bird Conservancy says EPA underestimated the risk
of this insecticide
Industry scientist says studies show no ill effects on
birds
EPA re-evaluating registration of pesticide
The American Bird Conservancy is calling for a ban on
using one of the globe's most widely used classes of insecticides in seed
treatments and for a suspension of all other uses, pending an independent
review of its impact on birds and other wildlife.
The Bird Conservancy, one of the nation's most active
bird-conservation groups, released a 97-page report Monday
that says that independent studies of the damage to birds and aquatic
ecosystems they depend upon for food raise "significant environmental
concerns" and that the Environmental Protection Agency has been too lenient
in allowing the use of this class of insecticides, called neonicotinoids.
Their possible role in the decline of honeybee populations
in the USA and Europe has spurred intense debate among scientists,
wildlife advocates and manufacturers, and the EPA is re-evaluating its
registration of this class of insecticide.
The EPA will "carefully consider the study results
and conclusions cited in this report," and the agency's review "is
not limited to impact on bees," said Jim Jones, acting assistant administrator
for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
He said the EPA "has accelerated the comprehensive
re-evaluation of these pesticides in the registration review program due to
stakeholder concern about the environmental impacts of neonicotinoid
pesticides."
Manufacturers say the American Bird Conservancy report
depends on suspect science, and a ban would be destructive to global
agricultural production. Defenders say that neonicotinoids were created as
safer alternatives to the pesticide class they replaced about 20 years ago.
Neonicotinoids have been in use for about two decades. The
insecticides are sprayed or used to coat seeds, such as corn, to protect crops
and control insects around the globe.
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