Pesticide Carbofuran Banned For Food Crops

H. JOSEF HEBERT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule Monday banning the use of the pesticide carbofuran on food crops, saying it poses an unacceptable health risk, especially to children.

The insecticide, sold under the brand name Furadan, has been under EPA review for years. Its granular form was banned in the mid-1990s because it was blamed for killing millions of migratory birds. The agency began its effort to remove the pesticide completely from the market in 2006.

Furadan is manufactured by Philadelphia-based FMC Corp., which has fought the ban. In March, the company voluntarily scaled back its uses, in hopes of heading off broader restrictions.

FMC Corp. officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The company said on its Web site that Furadan "remains a useful product, vital to the sustainability of agriculture " and that its proper use "does not create a risk to human health, wildlife or the environment."

The EPA said it was revoking all allowable tolerance levels for carbofuran on food crops, including those imported, and in the coming months will move to ban the chemical's use altogether, including on nonfood crops, because of risks to farm workers and to the environment.