Thank you for joining us in our Action of the Week! To take further action at the state level, we are offering an opportunity to submit comments through "copy and paste"  to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation! Written comments must be received no later than January 24, 2025.

[Unfortunately, a "click and submit" form is currently not available for CDPR comments; we apologize for the inconvenience.]

On November 15, 2024, the Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) published a Notice of Proposed Regulatory Action in the California Regulatory Notice Register. CDPR proposes to adopt Title 3, California Code of Regulations (3 CCR) section 6448.5 and amend sections 6000, 6448, 6448.2, 6448.4, 6624, and 6626. In summary, the proposed action restricts the use of 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) to mitigate the potential 40-year working lifetime cancer risk to occupational bystanders. The proposed action establishes buffer zone distances (distances from the edge of a treated area where certain activities are restricted) and requires CDPR to include an evaluation in the 1,3-D Annual Report of whether the 1,3-D air concentration in any township exceeds the acceptable level of 0.21 part per billion and to develop appropriate measures to reduce exposures if target air concentration levels are exceeded. DPR also proposes to repeal the document “1,3-Dichloropropene Field Fumigation Requirements, Est January 1, 2024,” and adopt the document “1,3-Dichloropropene Field Fumigation Requirements, Rev. January 1, 2026,” which is incorporated in existing sections 6448, 6448.2, 6624, and 6626.

CDPR will hold three in-person public hearings on January 8, 16, and 21, plus a virtual public hearing on January 10 to receive oral and written comments on the proposed action. Details are included in the Notice of Proposed Regulatory Action. For additional information about this rulemaking, please visit CDPR's website.

Please copy the following message and click the form image below to submit comments to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation on their Public Comment Form: DPR 24-001 Health Risk Mitigation for 1,3-Dichloropropene / Mitigación de los Riesgos para la Salud del 1,3-Dicloropropeno.

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (CDPR) draft regulation for the cancer-causing pesticide 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D, also known as Telone) continues to allow for exposure levels that are fourteen times higher than the State's official cancer risk level, perpetuating environmental racism and endangering vulnerable communities. 

DPR’s draft regulation applies separate and unequal standards for different groups, allowing children and adult residents near agricultural fields to be exposed to significantly higher cancer risks than workers in neighboring fields—the "occupational bystanders." This discrepancy is unjustifiable and fails to uphold the principles of equity and environmental justice. 

It is outrageous that CDPR would allow farmworkers—whose labor was judged “essential” during the pandemic—to be routinely exposed to highly toxic pesticides, which could be replaced by organic practices. 

For decades, 1,3-D has harmed communities, particularly Latino and Indigenous populations, who are disproportionately exposed to the pesticide. The State’s own toxicologists at the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) have set an acceptable cancer risk exposure level of air concentrated with 1,3-D at 0.04 parts per billion (ppb) per day. Yet, DPR has adopted one regulation and is proposing another for the same pesticide: one adopts the 1,3-D manufacturer Dow Chemical’s preferred exposure standard of 0.56 ppb per day for residents and children, while the other uses the OEHHA standard for occupational bystanders. Even for occupational bystanders, by disregarding off-the-clock exposure, CDPR proposes implementing only 100-foot buffer zones, entirely inadequate for protection against a fumigant that can drift for miles at harmful levels. 

1,3-D is a pre-plant soil fumigant registered for use on soils to control nematodes. It is allowed on all crops and is often used with chloropicrin, another highly toxic fumigant, to increase its herbicidal and fungicidal properties. 1,3-D causes cancer. In addition, the National Institutes of Health’s PubChem states, “Occupational exposure is likely to be through inhalation and via the skin. Irritation of the eyes and the upper respiratory mucosa appears promptly after exposure. Dermal exposure caused severe skin irritations. Inhalation may result in serious signs and symptoms of poisoning with lower exposures resulting in depression of the central nervous system and irritation of the respiratory system. Some poisoning incidents have occurred in which persons were hospitalized with signs and symptoms of irritation of the mucous membrane, chest discomfort, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and, occasionally, loss of consciousness and decreased libido.” Chloropicrin is extremely irritating to the lungs, eyes, and skin. Inhalation may lead to pulmonary edema, possibly resulting in death.  

DPR must prioritize the health and safety of California’s most vulnerable residents and adopt a single health-protective standard of 1,3-D air concentrations of 0.04 ppb for all Californians, ensuring equal protection from this carcinogenic pesticide. 1,3-D and other soil fumigants not only pose severe health threats to farmworkers and bystanders but also threaten soil and water ecosystems. In contrast, organic production seeks to build healthy soils that resist plant pathogens, making fumigation unnecessary. Thus, these fumigants pose unreasonable adverse effects on humans and the environment and should be eliminated. 

Thank you for your attention to this urgent issue.