Comment from Dinda S Evans

MY son and I were harmed during the massive fruit fly sprayings of pesticides in the 1980's in CA. Please protect people, birds, the environment, etc. from dangerous pesticides. Urge EPA to Restrict Rodenticides Revised regulations would help prevent accidental poisoning of wildlife, companion animals and children The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed a plan to more strictly regulate certain rat poisons in order to reduce accidental poisonings of wildlife, companion animals and children. Specifically, the EPA will restrict the use of three of the nine approved rodenticides so that only certified "pest" control operators will be able to use the chemicals. In addition, all over-the-counter sales of the remaining non-restricted rodenticides would be sold in tamper-resistant bait stations. The three highly toxic pesticides that may no longer be available over the counter -- brodifacoum, bromodialone and difethialone -- have killed thousands of birds of prey over the years because they remain active in the flesh of dead rodents when eaten by unsuspecting scavengers. That is why environmental and wildlife rescue groups have spent years putting pressure on the EPA to address the threats that pesticides pose to wildlife and human health. In fact, the pesticide mitigation plan being considered today is the culmination of a special review that the EPA initiated in 1998. Conservationists are excited by the possibility that the deadliest rodenticides may be sold to only a small handful of professional pesticide applicators. According to Caroline Kennedy, Senior Director of Field Conservation for Defenders of Wildlife, "The proposed EPA restrictions will significantly benefit several endangered species including the San Joaquin kit fox, and other wildlife species such as mountain lions and bobcats, each of which have been found poisoned by these chemicals in both suburban and rural areas." Dr. Michael Fry of the American Bird Conservancy points out that, while the new regulations would save the lives of many wild animals, "the tamper resistant bait stations will also help prevent up to 15,000 poisonings of children each year."