|
|
Deadline for comments to EPA on 2,4-D draws near
2 Feb, 2009 LM Direct!WASHINGTON D.C. — If you want the herbicide 2,4-D to continue to be available, you have until Feb. 23 to let the U.S. EPA know. That's the cutoff date for comments in response to request by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to stop the use of the popular broadleaf weed killer in the United States. The NRDC made its request this past November.
Comments can be submitted on the Internet via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. The docket identification number of the 2,4-D petition is EPA-HA-OPP-2008-0877.
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is the most widely used herbicide in the world, and the third most commonly used in the United States. It's also believed the most intensively studied and tested pesticide ever created. It was developed during WWII and released in 1946, and kills dicots by causing them to grow at an uncontrolled and unsustainable rate.
The NRDC says that about 46 million lbs. of 2,4-D are used in the United States annually, including 16 million lbs. for non-agricultural uses, such as lawns. The New York-based activist organization claims that the widespread use of 2,4-D, which is an endocrine disruptor, is responsible for a host of human ailments, and is particularly dangerous to children and pregnant women.
Suppliers and users claim that governments and independent laboratories have repeatedly tested the chemical and have deemed it acceptable for use.
"Petition calls for ban of popular herbicide," by Dennis Sherer, Florence, AL, Times Daily, Feb. 1, 2009
Please send any technical comments or questions to our webmaster.