EPA Approves Toxic Pesticide via It's Getting Hot In Here
It looked for a moment there like the EPA was going to do the right thing after 54 scientists wrote to oppose the approval of methyl iodide for use as a pesticide on crops. The chemists noted that methyl iodide (also: iodomethane) is a well-known cancer hazard among people who work in chemistry labs, that it warps DNA, causes miscarriages in lab animals, damages the thyroid and nervous system, and readily turns into a gas or dissolves in water.
But no, they approved it after “a thorough evaluation process,” at rates as high as 175 pounds per acre. Ahem.
I wonder if that evaluation process involved looking at the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for methyl iodide:
May be fatal if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through skin. Highly toxic. May cause cancer. Possible teratogen....