Fuming: Bill Monning, center, with (from left) Paul Towers of Pesticide Watch, California State Grange President Bob McFarland and Dolores Huerta Foundation Vice President Sal Alvarez. Sara Rubin

By Sara Rubin
Monterey County Weekly

Science was “subverted” in the state Department of Pesticide Regulation’s approval of the strawberry fumigant methyl iodide, and its use is likely going to have a negative impact on public health.

Those strong words came not from opponents of methyl iodide, but from the lead scientist hired by the DPR to conduct an independent review of the controversial fumigant.

During a hearing Tuesday before the California Assembly Committees on Health and Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, that scientist, John Froines, testified “there is no safe level for methyl iodide.”

“It is painful for me personally and professionally to have to report the science was subverted in the DPR approval,” said Froines, a professor of chemical toxicology at the UCLA School of Public Health.

Read the Full Article Here: http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2011/feb/24/methyl-battered/