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Pesticide debuts in Florida
Some are fearful about MIDAS’ effect on people, environment
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A touchy new fumigant has been approved for use in Florida.
Its name is MIDAS.
The product — seen as a replacement for the ozone-depleting methyl bromide — is now available in 44 other states and the District of Columbia.
The Florida Department of Agriculture this week registered MIDAS for commercial use after a rigorous review of a permit application submitted by its Japan-based maker, Arysta LifeScience Corp. The review took about nine months.
“The entire grower community is going to want to have as many alternatives available for methyl bromide as possible. They will be happy to hear about anything that’s getting registered,” said Mike Aerts, director of environmental and pest management at the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association.
That’s because methyl bromide is being phased out.
For decades, the fumigant has been widely used by tomato and strawberry growers to kill weeds and pests before planting. But supplies of the chemical continue to dwindle.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved MIDAS for commercial use in October 2007. Arysta hopes to now get it registered in all 50 states and in other countries around the world.
While growers welcome the new fumigant, farmworker advocates, scientists and environmentalists are worried about its touch on humans and the environment.
The Farmworker Association of Florida, along with more than a dozen other groups, recently sent a letter to the Florida Department of Agriculture urging it not to register MIDAS.
“We just think it’s a real mistake that this has been approved. So we are very concerned. Our only hope is that it will be so expensive that a lot of growers won’t want to use it,” said Jeannie Economos, the farmworker association’s pesticide project coordinator.
The association is worried most about the risks MIDAS poses to farmworkers. But there also are concerns about ground water contamination, Economos said.
“This product is the first fumigant that has been registered probably in 50 years, and it is scientifically proven to accommodate any environmental or health concerns,” said Shan Brooks, a territory sales manager for Arysta in Florida.
The company, he said, has an extensive training program for applicators. After training, they must pass an exam before using it.
Andy Rackley, the Florida Department of Agriculture’s director of agricultural and environmental services, said more restrictions have been put on its use in this state than required by the EPA. That includes requiring the company to have a representative in Florida who can oversee applicators and keep field inspectors updated on where MIDAS is being applied, he said.
The department required more testing and more information before approving the use of MIDAS in Florida, spokesman Terry McElroy said.
“If we thought it posed any significant risk to health, to the air, to the ground water, we certainly would not have approved it,” he said. “The EPA would not have approved it if it posed any significant risks in those areas.”
He said the registration in Florida is conditional for one year and will require Arysta to monitor air and water quality where MIDAS is applied.
Currently, there are three distributors for MIDAS in Florida: Helena Chemical Co., HyYield and Howard Fertilizer.
While growers have raised concerns about the cost of the new fumigant, Brooks said Arysta’s goal is to keep the product “competitively priced in the market.”
Arysta is wasting no time getting a foothold in Florida.
“We currently have orders in place for field use starting next week,” Brooks said.
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"Touchy?"
Like plutonium is "touchy?"
Nobody hoovers the PR spin like Laura Layden. From telephonic pizza delivery to prefab cement houses built on economic development money, she's a soft touch for anybody with a good haircut.
#1 Posted by elnuestros on July 9, 2008 at 7:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The environmentalists are a bunch of pansies along with the lazy farm worker groups hoping for more money from Burger King. Though MIDAS can kill cockroaches within a 28 mile radius there is no reason to consider it may be harmful to Mexican farm workers. Also, the company has been making quality mufflers for over 40 years and has the explicit trust of America's consumers along with the FDA.
#2 Posted by ZhuZhu on July 9, 2008 at 7:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
el, why so condescending to the reporter? This is a new chemical designed to replace the once best herbicide/insecticide known to man. What is wrong with Touchy? This is only a marketing ploy meant to reassure those in contact that the product is safe. Sure it is a corny name but don't blame the reporter. What would you like it to be called? "Touchy" is much better than "Three Headed Migrant Baby Producing Toxin/Weed/Bug Killer."
#3 Posted by strigiformes on July 9, 2008 at 8:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
strig:
Because this reporter has a long and distinguished record of acting as a stenographer for any number of bad actors.
She suspends all critical thinking -- assuming she has that quality -- when presented glowing fantasies by various pyramid schemers and con men, which she dutifully packages and "reports" under the guise of objective journalism.
Here's a quote from one of her cheerleading stories, dated March 2000:
"ADAM has the ability to recognize 80,000 words in various languages and dialects. He can take your pizza order, and then transmit it to your local pizzeria.
ADAM should always be reached on the first try.
“It’s like talking to a super human,” said Michael Kehl, chairman and CEO of AIO Technologies, the developer of the new order processing system. “It’s user-friendly. It gets you out of the touch tone situation for placing an order.” "
Later, she was forced to write:
"While shareholders invested more than $5 million in Naples- based AiO Technologies, they'll be lucky to see $50,000 come back to them from the sale of the founder's personal assets.
Company founder Michael Kehl has agreed to turn over half of the money made from the recent sale of his 1976 Beachcraft B-60 Duke airplane, and deeds to two lots he owns on the Turks and Caicos Islands."
That's only one example. She's been flimflammed by others, too, but you won't find them in the NDN's electronic archives any longer.
As for the chemical in question, there are far too many concerns to embrace it. Granted, it makes it possible to raise certain crops in areas that would otherwise be inhospitable to them. That doesn't mean we should.
We don't know the risks. We KNOW we can't trust the EPA under Bush/Cheney.
And we know the reporters on Entertainment Tonight ask harder questions than Laura Layden does.
#4 Posted by elnuestros on July 9, 2008 at 9:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Actually "touchy new fumigant" has a nice ring to it. Like something my wife would use to freshen up her private areas. The dated ozone-depleting methyl bromide just does not cut the mustard in the 21st century. Thank God the modern farmers are getting with the program.
#5 Posted by PuffyStormClouds on July 9, 2008 at 10:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If you need further evidence, read this story and the comments that followed:
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/m...
#6 Posted by elnuestros on July 9, 2008 at 10:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
#8 Posted by JunkYardDog, agreed!
Why pick on the reporter, if you don't like her style of writing then go to NDN and see if you can do better!
Now about the article.... give the new"touchy" pesticide the trial period and if it produces 3-headed babies then you know it's not good for humans and the environment.
#7 Posted by GatorBite on July 10, 2008 at 11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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