After two years of public conversation surrounding chloropicrin, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) announced on Jan. 14 that it strengthened the regulations governing the fumigant’s use.
Chloropicrin is used to rid soil of funguses and diseases before planting and is predominantly applied on strawberry fields—accounting for 70 percent of the fumigant’s use in California. Santa Barbara County is among the top five counties in the state for chloropicrin use.
“California farmers have safely used chloropicrin for more than 50 years,” Carolyn O’Donnell, the communications director of the California Strawberry Commission, said in a statement. “California farmers already follow stricter regulations than farmers in any other state, and these added regulations equal added costs.”
Changes to the fumigant’s regulations include larger buffer zones, both for fields that don’t have protective tarps and those that do; further limits on acreage on which the fumigant can be applied; requirements of notification that fumigation will occur; and a 48-hour notice of intent requirement. The new restrictions are more protective than those at the federal level, which went into effect in 2012.
“Once again California is ensuring that the communities where we produce and grow food are protected from harm,” DPR Director Brian Leahy said in a press release. “These new measures are an additional safeguard for nearby residents. Our regulatory program is the most stringent in the nation and sets an example for other states to follow.”
The Sun reached out to California Rural Legal Assistance and the Santa Barbara Agriculture Commissioner’s Office for comment, but didn’t hear back before press time.
O’Donnell from the strawberry commission said that California strawberry farmers are committed to finding alternatives to fumigation and were recently awarded research grants totaling more that $1 million for soil research.