Comment submitted by S. Skakich-scrima

I am writing as a member of a class affected by daily exposure to the toxic pesticide Endosulfan, i.e, as member of the U.S. public. As an avid drinker of water and an ingester of peas, beans, pumpkins, squash, sweet potatos, eggplant, pears, broccoli, tomatoes, pecans and other vegetables, fruits and nuts, and as the wearer of cotton clothing, I have apparently been bioaccumulating Endosulfan toxins for 5 decades, without my knowlege. As a dutiful mother, aware of the nutritional value of vegetables and fruit and unaware of the bioaccumulative Endosulfan toxins lurking on their surface and in their very fiber, I exposed my children (and my husband also) to this neurotoxin and endocrine disrupter, by aggressively promoting the habit of eating large servings of vegetables and fruit. I only recently became aware of the following facts regarding Endosulfan: 1. It is a neurotoxin and endocrine disrupter, with persistent, cummulative toxic effects. 2. Its acute oral and inhalation toxicity poses undue risk to agricultural workers. 3. The general public is exposed to this bioaccumulative toxin DAILY through drinking water and through the ingestion of food - vegetables and fruits. 4. The subpopulation (of the general population) whose exposure poses the greatest toxic effect is 1-6 year old children, primarily from eating peas and beans, but also from other vegetables and fruits. 5. Long term studies have not been conducted with other vulnerable populations (pregnant mothers, fetuses, elderly, immune compromised). 6. Endosulfan has been banned in other countries for the above reasons. 7. Other pesticides are currently available that carry substantially less toxic load for the public. Once these facts are known, the conclusion is inescapable that Endosulfan must be removed from the market. There are no competing facts compelling enough to reach any different conclusion on behalf of the health of the U.S. public. I deeply regret having been party to the unwitting slow poisoning of my children and husband and my own self. Unfortunately, being “unwitting” does not mitigate the biological harm done. Unfortunately, being aware of the above facts appears to make a mother an accomplice to unnecessary harm, simply by providing water, vegetables, fruit and cotton clothing to one's family. As the primary governmental agency responsible for the evaluation and regulation of harm to the public from environmental sources, the EPA must urgently act on our behalf to expeditiously remove Endosulfan from the market, to stop this daily toxic insult to the nervous and endocrine systems of all Americans. Sonia Skakich-Scrima, Aurora CO