As a local strawberry grower, I commend you on a very balanced and informative story about the proposed chloropicrin regulation changes and related strawberry challenges in general (“Anticipating the end,” June 13). I attended the technical information meeting presented by the Department of Pesticide Regulation and came away feeling they are taking a very responsible and scientifically valid approach to the proposed changes in buffer zone regulations. Their proposals appear to be based on a very thorough history of data over many years and I hope everyone can support the final regulations.
I did want to point out a misconception about fumigation illustrated by the ex-farmworker’s comments. She mentioned being brought back to a field that had been “fumigated” and exposed to what she believed to be a fumigant. Fumigants, like methyl-bromide and chloropicrin, are used weeks before planting and months before any flowers or fruit appear in the field. Any toxic residue from fumigation would be deadly to the young plants, so fields are never planted until all the fumigant has completely dissipated.
The misconception is linked to the English translation of one of the Spanish words for pesticide spraying, fumigacion. In English, fumigation means open, dry, bare soil injected with a fumigant under plastic tarps and then vacated until the chemical dissipates to safe levels. Many Spanish-speaking workers still refer to all spraying of the actual growing fields as fumigacion. It’s an unfortunate error in translation that has caused a lot of unnecessary angst over the years.
This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 4, 2013.