January, 1999

Environmental Working Group bails out of TRAC process

by Lee Dean

The broad-based committee formed to help implement the Food Quality Protection Act is a little less broad following the departure of the Environmental Working Group. Thus far, none of the other non-governmental organizations represented on the panel have followed EWG to the sidelines.
EWG leaders are upset at what they perceived as the lack of progress made by the Tolerance Reassessment Advisory Committee since it was formed in early 1998. TRAC consists of 50 representatives from farming, chemicals, government, environmental and consumer groups to help the Environmental Protection Agency implement the new law using sound science.
TRAC was formed after a letter from Vice President Al Gore urging a slower pace to implementation of the act. He asked that FQPA be considered using sound science and that affected constituencies be given a chance to participate in the process.
This time, Gore was on the receiving end of a letter. It was sent from EWG in late October, explaining the group’s departure from the process.
“This government is going to talk about protecting children from pesticide risks, but is unwilling to act to reduce those risks in deference to the economic concerns of agribusiness groups, pesticide companies and food processors,” said the letter.
EWG president Ken Cook, who sat in on the TRAC deliberations, was even more explicit in his disappointment.
“They haven’t banned one pesticide. They haven’t been able to explain their plans to anybody,” he said.
TRAC’s primary mission is not the banning of pesticides, according to another member of the committee, Cindy Baker, director of governmental affairs for Gowan Company. Gowan is one of the agrochemical companies represented on TRAC.
“The Food Quality Protection Act does not say results will be measured by how many pesticides get banned. It says results will come by meeting safety standards,” she said. “I can’t imagine how anyone could believe EPA is not implementing the law in a timely manner.”
TRAC is in a slow period until its next meeting in February, at which there will be plenty to consider. EPA will be seeking public comments on nine critical science policies. Three of those have already been released.
The agency is also releasing preliminary risk assessments on a series of organophosphate insecticides.
“We have some real concerns about some of the things we’ve seen in there, but we don’t have them all yet,” said Baker. “It’s not a concern on a product-by-product basis, but on the way some of the decisions are being made.”
FQPA mandates that all pesticide tolerances be reviewed by certain deadlines. The deadline to have the first one-third of these reviews completed is August. Organophosphate and carbamate insecticides are undergoing scrutiny at present because they are seen to be more highly toxic to humans and the environment.
Ag producers have been trying to convince EPA that few alternatives exist for these chemicals if they are removed from the marketplace and are asking for time to come up with safer and effective materials.