STOP: EARLIMART
LISTEN/DOWNLOAD [MP3]
SB CUE Twisselman Rd.
NB CUE Twisselman Rd.
SITE
Earlimart
View LANDSAT Map
LOCATION
A transient cloud of pesticides that drifted through Lane Ave.
THREATS AND CONTAMINANTS
Metam sodium pesticide drift, acute and long-term risks from a broad range of pesticides
VOICE
Teresa De Anda, El Comite Para el Bienestar de Earlimart
Tracy Brieger, Californians for Pesticide Reform
Earlimart is a campesino town in heavily agricultural Tulare County, where 12,000,000 lbs. of pesticides were applied in 2003.
In November 1999, Wilbur-Ellis Company fumigated a seventy-five-acre potato field near Earlimart with metam sodium, which drifted as a toxic cloud into nearby homes, forcing 180 residents to evacuate. Exposed Earlimart residents experienced nausea, vomiting, headaches, burning eyes, and shortness of breath. In a sequence of local emergency response failures, residents' distressed phone calls were initially dismissed, and then poisoned residents were subject to a humiliating and ineffectual decontamination attempt at a local football field. After the incident, it took a county health team nine days to come to Earlimart and treat poisoning victims who could not afford medical care. Forty-six people sought medical attention at the time of the incident, and twenty-eight have reported ongoing medical problems. An investigation by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner's Office concluded that Wilbur-Ellis failed to take appropriate safeguards to prevent the fumes from drifting.
In direct response to the incident, Earlimart resident Teresa de Anda formed El Comite Para el Bienestar de Earlimart to help educate and advocate for Earlimart about pesticide drift. She was instrumental in the passage in 2004 of SB 391, the Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act, which set out improved procedures for pesticide drift response, and financial responsibility for the medical bills of victims of pesticide exposure.
Metam sodium is used as a fumigant, herbicide, fungicide, microbiocide, and algaecide, with 5,919,588 lbs. applied to carrot crops alone in California in 2003. It's potential toxic effects include acute skin irritation, serious irritation of mucous membranes, eyes, and lungs; and is a carcinogen and developmental toxin. In 1999 almost 78 million pounds of pesticides (active ingredients) were applied in Fresno,Tulare and Kern counties.
Image: Teresa De Anda's daughter and friend at site of pesticide drift incident near their home in Earlimart.
LISTEN/DOWNLOAD [MP3]
SB CUE Twisselman Rd.
NB CUE Twisselman Rd.
SITE
Earlimart
View LANDSAT Map
LOCATION
A transient cloud of pesticides that drifted through Lane Ave.
THREATS AND CONTAMINANTS
Metam sodium pesticide drift, acute and long-term risks from a broad range of pesticides
VOICE
Teresa De Anda, El Comite Para el Bienestar de Earlimart
Tracy Brieger, Californians for Pesticide Reform
Earlimart is a campesino town in heavily agricultural Tulare County, where 12,000,000 lbs. of pesticides were applied in 2003.
In November 1999, Wilbur-Ellis Company fumigated a seventy-five-acre potato field near Earlimart with metam sodium, which drifted as a toxic cloud into nearby homes, forcing 180 residents to evacuate. Exposed Earlimart residents experienced nausea, vomiting, headaches, burning eyes, and shortness of breath. In a sequence of local emergency response failures, residents' distressed phone calls were initially dismissed, and then poisoned residents were subject to a humiliating and ineffectual decontamination attempt at a local football field. After the incident, it took a county health team nine days to come to Earlimart and treat poisoning victims who could not afford medical care. Forty-six people sought medical attention at the time of the incident, and twenty-eight have reported ongoing medical problems. An investigation by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner's Office concluded that Wilbur-Ellis failed to take appropriate safeguards to prevent the fumes from drifting.
In direct response to the incident, Earlimart resident Teresa de Anda formed El Comite Para el Bienestar de Earlimart to help educate and advocate for Earlimart about pesticide drift. She was instrumental in the passage in 2004 of SB 391, the Pesticide Drift Exposure Response Act, which set out improved procedures for pesticide drift response, and financial responsibility for the medical bills of victims of pesticide exposure.
Metam sodium is used as a fumigant, herbicide, fungicide, microbiocide, and algaecide, with 5,919,588 lbs. applied to carrot crops alone in California in 2003. It's potential toxic effects include acute skin irritation, serious irritation of mucous membranes, eyes, and lungs; and is a carcinogen and developmental toxin. In 1999 almost 78 million pounds of pesticides (active ingredients) were applied in Fresno,Tulare and Kern counties.
Image: Teresa De Anda's daughter and friend at site of pesticide drift incident near their home in Earlimart.
