Pesticides A Toxic Time Bomb in Our Midst

class includes both those pesticides that the EPA has banned from domestic use and

those which have never been submitted for EPA evaluation. The 1993 policy allows

U.S. companies to produce and export both types of unregistered pesticides to any

country so long as they are labeled ‘‘unregistered’’ and the importer is notified of this

classification.

Developing countries that import unregistered pesticides suffer immeasurable dam-

ages from these products. Further, it is commonly understood that developing coun-

tries allow the importation of unregistered pesticides only because they, unlike the

developed countries that produce those pesticides, lack a regulatory infrastructure that

would enable them to make sound risk/benefit analyses regarding the use of such

products. Some observers claim it is wrong for developed countries to continue to

‘‘push’’ their unregistered pesticides on their less-sophisticated and more-desperate

neighbors. The 1993 policy tacitly endorses this ‘‘pushing.’’^2

The Scope of Pesticide Exports

The United States is a major exporter of pesticides. Nearly 3.2 billion pounds of

pesticide products were exported from U.S. ports between 1997 and 2000, according

to an analysis of U.S. Customs records. This average rate of almost 2.2 million

pounds per day—or forty-five tons per hour—represents a 15 percent increase over

the average rate of 936 tons per day documented for the years 1992–1996. Between

1997 and 2000, the United States exported nearly 65 million pounds of pesticides

that are banned or severely restricted domestically.

Ominously, the United States exported nearly 1.1 billion pounds of pesticides that

have been identified as known or suspected carcinogens, an average rate of almost six-

teen tons per hour.

The data were gathered using commercial transcriptions of U.S. Customs records

of shipments from U.S. ports. Although this is the most comprehensive source of

export information available in the public record, it remains only a partial source of

production and trade information since many details are protected as trade secrets.^3

International Regulation

The problems of pesticide use in developing countries are widely acknowledged by

governments and international agencies. Since the 1980s a number of initiatives have

been developed to reduce the risks. These include:

International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides

The Code of Conduct is addressed to importing and exporting governments, and

to industry and public interest groups. Itwas negotiated by governments through

the FAO of the United Nations and ratified in 1985. A 1994 survey carried out on

the effectiveness of the code found that health issues caused by pesticides had not

been reduced, and that environmental problems appeared to have worsened, though

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