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GR Action #5/97 Stop Ozone Depletion / Ban Methyl Bromide

(Global Response text: see contact numbers below)

Methyl bromide is 50 times more powerful than CRCs in destroying ozone. Now
that the more plentiful CRCs are being phased out, the most effective way to
protect the ozone layer is to eliminate methyl bromide.

-- summarized from the United Nations Scientific Assessment of
Ozone Depletion, 1994



This September, at the meeting of the U.N.'s Montreal Protocol on Substances
that Deplete the Ozone Layer, 162 nations will have a chance to speed up the
phaseout of methyl bromide. A "Class I Ozone Depleter," methyl bromide is
responsible for 5 to 10 percent of worldwide ozone depletion.

The critical decision in Montreal will be greatly influenced by national
delegations from Australia, Italy and the U.S. Global Response members are
asked to urge these delegations to press for phasing out major uses of
methyl bromide by 1999 in industrialized countries and by 2003 in developing
countries. Complete bans should follow in 2001 and 2006, respectively.

Methyl bromide is a pesticide used to sterilize fields before planting crops
like strawberries and tomatoes. A colorless and odorless gas, it is
injected into the soil where it kills all living organisms. In such "dead
soil," crops become increasingly reliant on synthetic chemicals.

Methyl bromide is extremely toxic - a "Class I Acute Toxin," according to
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Known effects of exposure include
brain damage, harm to the nervous system, lungs, kidneys and liver - and
death. Farmworkers and nearby residents often complain of dizziness,
fatigue, muscle aches and mental confusion as a result of low-level exposure.

The U.S. is by far the world's largest user of methyl bromide. Although
the U.S. Clean Air Act prohibits its production after 2001, the powerful
pesticide lobby boasts to members that "we stand an increasingly good chance
of being able to use methyl bromide well beyond the year 2001." Indeed, the
Clinton Administration has expressed interest in a "critical agricultural
use exemption" which would create a large loophole and remove any incentive
for implementing alternatives to methyl bromide.

The U.N. Methyl Bromide Technical Options Committee, composed of 68
scientists from 23 countries) concluded that alternatives exist, or are at
an advanced stage of development, for more than 90 percent of methyl bromide
uses. Dr. Jamie Liebman, staff scientist with Pesticide Action Network,
found that "for all of the major uses of this pesticide as a soil fumigant,
there are examples of the same crops currently grown profitably, in the U.S.
and other
countries, without methyl bromide."

Holland banned methyl bromide in 1992, and Denmark, Sweden, Norway and
Finland will follow in 1998. These countries, as well as Switzerland and
Germany, grow strawberries, tomatoes and other crops successfully without
methyl bromide.

Italy is the largest user of methyl bromide in Europe. Due to aggressive
pesticide industry lobbying, the Italian government currently opposes
phasing it out in 2001.

Australia, located near the Antarctic ozone hole, warns its citizens about
the dangers of UV-B radiation - but it has not supported an early phaseout
date for methyl bromide. Friends of the Earth/Australia is urging the
Australian government to take a leading role in pressing for an early ban on
methyl bromide at the Montreal meeting.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

WHAT IS OZONE? - Ozone in the upper atmosphere is critical to maintaining
life on Earth. Ozone molecules absorb the burning portion of the sun's
radiation (UV-B), and prevent it from reaching the Earth's surface. Without
ozone protection, all living creatures, plants and many manufactured
materials are vulnerable to UV-B's damaging rays.

OZONE-DEPLETING CHEMICALS escape into the air as gases and travel to the
stratosphere where they release chlorine or bromine atoms that destroy
ozone. Chlorine and bromine break apart ozone faster than it can be
naturally created, resulting in thinning of the ozone layer.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OZONE DEPLETION? -- In humans, increased
exposure to UV-B radiation causes skin cancer, suppression of the immune
system, and cataracts. A 1996 NASA study concluded that the amount of
harmful solar radiation hitting major population areas has been increasing
over the past 15 years, especially in the middle and high latitudes, where
most people live. In the U.S., the incidence of melanoma skin cancer has
increased by 1800 percent since 1930. Many studies are also pointing to
negative effects of UV-B radiation on plants and animals.

THE MONTREAL PROTOCOL TREATY ON SUBSTANCES THAT DEPLETE THE OZONE LAYER is
convened by the United Nations. It is successfully phasing out worldwide
use of CFCs by setting bans for both industrialized and developing
countries, and providing technical assistance to help developing countries
implement alternatives.

REQUESTED ACTION:

Write letters to the U.S., Italian, and Australian national delegations to
the Montreal Protocol.

- Express your appreciation for the past successes of the Montreal Protocol
Treaty in phasing out the use of CFCs.

- Express your concerns about the dangerous effects of the toxic,
ozone-depleting pesticide, methyl bromide.

- Urge them to establish a phase out of major uses of methyl bromide by 1999
in industrialized countries and by 2003 in developing countries, followed by
a complete ban in 2001in industrial-ized countries and 2006 in developing
countries.

-Insist that no "exemptions" should be allowed.



GR members in the US: please send polite letters to the U.S. and Australia
only.
GR members in all other countries: please send polite letters to Italy and
Australia.

Vice President Albert Gore
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington DC 20500 USA
FAX +202/456-7044

Senator the Hon. Robert Hill
Minister for the Environment
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA
FAX +61/06/273-6101

Mr. Corrado Clini, General Director
Ministry of Environment
Department for Air and Acoustic Pollution,
Global Atmosphere, Industrial Risk
Via Della Ferratella, 33
00184 Roma, ITALY
FAX +39-6-77257016


This GLOBAL RESPONSE ACTION was issued at the request of and with
information provided by PESTICIDE ACTION NETWORK, 116 New Montgomery St.
#810, San Francisco CA 94105, Tel. 415/541-9140; and FRIENDS OF THE EARTH
(Australia, Italy and US offices), 1025 Vermont Ave., N.W., Suite 300,
Washington DC 20005, Tel: 202/783-7400. Please contact these organizations
for more information.


GLOBAL RESPONSE is an international letter-writing network of environmental
activists. In partnership with indigenous, environmentalist and peace and
justice organizations around the world, GLOBAL RESPONSE develops Actions
that describe specific, urgent threats to the environment; each Action asks
members to write personal letters to individuals in the corporations,
governments or international organizations that have the power and
responsibility to take corrective action. GR also issues Young
Environmentalists' Actions and Eco-Club Actions designed to educate and
motivate elementary and high school students to practice earth stewardship.

P.O. Box 7490 Phone: 303/444-0306
Boulder CO, USA 80306-7490 Fax: 303/449-9794

To receive Global Response materials by e-mail, send an e-mail message to:
[email protected] Type this text: subscribe globresmembers
There is no charge for this service.

Visit our website at: http://www.globalresponse.org

GLOBAL RESPONSE is an international letter-writing network of environmental
activists. In partnership with indigenous, environmentalist and peace and
justice organizations around the world, GLOBAL RESPONSE develops Actions
that describe specific, urgent threats to the environment; each Action asks
members to write personal letters to individuals in the corporations,
governments or international organizations that have the power and
responsibility to take corrective action. GR also issues Young
Environmentalists' Actions and Eco-Club Actions designed to educate and
motivate elementary and high school students to practice earth stewardship.

P.O. Box 7490 Phone: 303/444-0306
Boulder CO, USA 80306-7490 Fax: 303/449-9794

To receive Global Response materials by e-mail, send an e-mail message to:
[email protected] Type this text: subscribe globresmembers
There is no charge for this service.

Visit our website at: http://www.globalresponse.org