Lawsuit says EPA favoured chem industry in poison ruling

09 November 2004 19:59  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--Environmental groups filed suit Tuesday against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), charging that EPA “sided with the chemical industry” in allegedly exposing children to rat poisoning by reducing safety measures.

 

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the West Harlem Environmental Action Team (WeAct) said they filed suit today in US federal district court in New York City, contending that in 2001 EPA revoked safety regulations that had been put in place in 1998 concerning rat poison formulations.

 

A spokeswoman for EPA told CNI today that the agency has seen the lawsuit.  But in keeping with established policy on litigation in progress, she said EPA would have no comment on the suit, other than to say: “We will review it and respond appropriately.”

 

NRDC said in a statement that in 1988 EPA required that rat poisons sold in the US contain a bittering agent that would make it more unlikely that an infant would ingest the poison, and a dye that would make it more obvious if a child did consume some of the poison.

 

“In 2001, however,” NRDC said, “EPA revoked the safety regulations, announcing that it ‘came to a mutual agreement with rodenticide manufacturers to rescind the bittering agent and indicator dye requirements’.”

 

As a consequence, said NRDC, “The EPA is allowing the chemical industry to continue to sell rat poisons without adding ingredients that would protect children.”  NRDC attorney Aaron Colangelo said:  “There is an easy and effective solution to the problem, but the agency sided with industry instead of our kids.”

 

NRDC charged that since the 2001 EPA policy reversal, “the number of reported child poisonings has increased annually.”  The environmental group cited Poison Control Center statistics in saying that each year more than 15 000 children under age six accidentally eat rat poisons, requiring “several hundred hospitalizations.”

 

In its suit, NRDC said it is seeking a court order to reverse EPA’s 2001 decision to rescind the 1998 regulations.

 

Spokesmen for the US pesticides industry were not immediately available for comment Tuesday.

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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