WAGING CHEMICAL WARFARE LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST EPA OVER PESTICIDES' HARM TO CHILDREN.

Byline: Eric Leach Staff Writer

OXNARD - The Environmental Protection Agency is failing to protect children of farmworkers from pesticides in Ventura County and elsewhere in the nation, according to a lawsuit filed by the United Farm Workers Union and a coalition of environmental and health advocates.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco on Tuesday, alleging that the EPA ignored scientific evidence that children who grow up near farms face increased health risks from exposure to pesticides from air, soil, water, food and clothing.

``The EPA has turned a blind eye to this problem, which has left another generation of our children at risk,'' said Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Michael Wall.

``There are more than a million children in this country who live surrounded by farm fields, play in those fields and may swim in irrigation canals. Sometimes the schools are across the street from these fields.

``The EPA is not considering the increased risk faced by these children. The EPA is assuming a kid who grows up in the fields of Oxnard has the same pesticide exposure as a kid who grows up in Bel-Air.''

Wall, senior attorney with NRDC, who represents the plaintiffs, added that ``Congress told EPA to set pesticide levels for food that provide a reasonable certainty of no harm to all our children, including kids living on and near farms. EPA has abdicated its responsibility.''

Pesticide advocates say farmers would face soaring labor costs and crop loss without pesticides to control weeds and insects.

The Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement it believed its ``decisions are protective of children's health and fully meet the toughest scientific and legal standards under the Food Quality Protection Act.

``Protection of infants and children is a foremost concern of the Agency. EPA applies rigorous scientific standards in its pesticide tolerance and registration decisions to ensure the protection of human health, including farmworkers, and the environment, as well as the safety of the food supply,'' the EPA said.

``We are reviewing the lawsuit,'' said Enesta Jones, an EPA spokeswoman. ``We will respond appropriately.''

David Buettner, chief deputy agricultural commissioner in Ventura County, said he could not comment on the suit nor estimate the number of farmworkers' children in the county, but noted that pesticide exposure is of concern in both rural and urban areas.

``It's always a concern for farm workers, because they work in the fields that may have applications of pesticides,'' he said. ``There are concerns that residues could be transported on the skin or clothing to other locations including the home.''

Agriculture is one of Ventura County's biggest industries, with an annual crop value of more than a billion dollars. And the Oxnard plain represents one of richest areas in the state in agricultural production, particularly for strawberries and vegetables. In the area, agricultural fields sometimes border housing developments.

Marcia Cummings, a co-founder of the Ventura County environmental group Safe Air For Everyone, said that, although she was not familiar with the recent lawsuit, the issue is a major one in the farming areas.

``This has been a concern for a long time,'' she said. ``Ventura County is exactly where it should be of concern, here and in other agricultural areas. A lot of these children are exposed at home and are exposed at schools in Ventura County that are near the farms and the flood plain.''

Deborah Bechtel of Community and Children's Advocates Against Pesticide Poisoning said that, although her group is not involved in the lawsuit, people with questions about pesticides in Ventura County may call her group at [phone].

``We support the lawsuit, but it is unfortunate it comes down to filing a lawsuit to protect children's health,'' she said. ``People have been really apathetic about it, but this is a very serious issue.''

The plaintiffs, including the Pesticide Action Network, United Farm Workers of America and Natural Resources Defense Council, filed suit saying the EPA allegedly failed to respond to their 1998 petition to recognize the special needs of farmworkers' children when setting pesticide tolerance levels, as required by the 1996 federal Food Quality Protection Act.

More than 300,000 farmers' children under the age of 6 live on farms and are particularly exposed to hazardous pesticides, according to the suit.

These younger children are especially vulnerable to toxic effects of pesticides on their developing brains and bodies, and the EPA has failed to consider farm kids' heightened exposure risks when setting allowable pesticide standards for food, the plaintiffs charged.

``Children of farm workers breathe pesticides that drift from the fields, and they often live, play and go to school right next to pesticide-treated orchards,'' said Erik Nicholson of the United Farm Workers of America. ``It's common sense to protect our kids, but EPA is ignoring them.''

Under the 1996 law, the Food Quality Protection Act, the EPA is required to account for specific factors when setting tolerance levels for chemical pesticide residues that consumers and ``major identifiable subgroups'' of consumers may be exposed to.

In October 1998, the plaintiffs petitioned the EPA to identify farm children as meriting special consideration. The groups are suing the EPA for failing to respond to the petition within a reasonable amount of time.

``We can no longer wait patiently while we hear every day from communities and individuals directly affected by toxic pesticides,'' said Margaret Reeves, Ph.D., senior scientist with Pesticide Action Network North America. ``It's time to light a fire under EPA to force it to act to protect farm children's health.

Eric Leach, [phone]

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com