From the Ground Up
From the Ground Up
Fumigants, Ozone, and Health
This chapter examines the local and international politics underlying the bitter struggle to end usage of methyl bromide. Animal-based studies showed that methyl bromide is a mutagen and reproductive toxin. Upon breaking down in the atmosphere, methyl bromide, in combination with chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), also depletes the ozone layer. Following the discovery of a hole in the ozone layer in 1985 and subsequent signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987, the United States committed to ending usage of ozone-depleting substances. An amendment to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to curb ozone depletion, in 1993 set a phase-out date for methyl bromide. This chapter discusses the collaborative efforts of farmworker groups and environmental organizations, including the Farmworker Association of Florida, Friends of the Earth, the Florida Consumer Action Network, and the Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation, to effect a methyl bromide ban in a battle with growers associations and industry groups.
Keywords: methyl bromide, chlorofluorocarbons, ozone layer, Montreal Protocol, ozone-depleting substances, ozone depletion, farmworker groups, Florida, growers associations, environmental organizations
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