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Ag contributes to air cleanup

Batch Data Processor | Wednesday, Jun 21 2006 6:05 PM

Last Updated: Wednesday, Jun 21 2006 6:09 PM

A two-pronged effort by state regulators to reduce smog from agricultural sources should make the San Joaquin Valley a healthier place to live.

With the help of growers and manufacturers, the effort should significantly reduce one of the top sources of smog-forming compounds in the San Joaquin Valley one of the smoggiest air basins in the nation.

The state Department of Pesticide Regulation is targeting fumigants -- gases injected into the ground to kill pests -- and volatile organic compounds in chemicals used on the soil or on plants to kill pests and weeds.

Components of the chemicals escape into the air where they react to form ozone, a component of smog.

Although prompted by a lawsuit now being appealed, department director Mary-Ann Warmerdam says the agency will proceed with its pesticide regulations regardless of the appeal's outcome.

The overall goal of a 20 percent reduction in agricultural chemical pollution emissions sounds small, but has a huge effect. It is a matter of tons of emissions per day locally.

The state action is a national precedent. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has not yet set air pollution standards for pesticides.

The department will implement more new rules by next year on the amount of fumigants that can be used, their content and application methods. However, some growers already are altering their procedures.

The second major thrust is to reduce the amount of volatile organic compounds from 700 pesticides and herbicides now in use. The compounds have long since been reduced in non-agricultural chemicals, solvents, inks, paints and other finishes.

The department has ordered manufacturers to submit formulations that have fewer of the volatile organic compounds, which evaporate and react chemically in the atmosphere to produce smog. Products that do not achieve a sufficient reduction could be banned within two years.

In the last two decades, consumers and many industries have made huge gains in pollution control efforts. In the last two or three years, major new rules have been imposed on agriculture, which was largely exempt from past efforts.

Growers and manufacturers have been working with the Department of Pesticide Regulations to develop pollution-cuting rules. For the sake of all who live and breathe in California, continued cooperation is vital.