Help Protect Californians from Cancer-Causing Pesticides!

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) has proposed new restrictions on 1,3-D, including limits on how much of the pesticide can be in the air and the creation of buffer zones that would prevent spraying near occupied structures. While these regulations are a step in the right direction, they fall far short of what's needed to fully protect Californian’s public health and ecosystems.

DPR’s proposed measures allow far too much exposure to this toxic chemical and do not do enough to prevent harm to vulnerable communities. This is a matter of environmental racism and inequality, as farmworker families - especially Latinx and indigenous - bear the brunt of this exposure to 1,3-D. This pesticide is far too dangerous to continue widespread use, and it’s past time for a proper phase out.

Please send a message to DPR ahead of the Friday, January 24th deadline and urge them to take stronger action to regulate 1,3-D, and demand that they:

Phase out 1,3-D
Set strict exposure limits that align with the science - no more than 0.04 ppb in the air,
Expand buffer zones to protect neighborhoods, schools, and homes from pesticide drift
Stand up for environmental justice and wildlife protections of the California tiger salamander and mountain yellow-legged frogs from pesticide poisoning.

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Protect Californians from the cancer-causing pesticide 1,3-dichloropropene

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Dear California Department of Pesticide Regulation, I am deeply concerned about the Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (DPR) draft regulation for the cancer-causing pesticide 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D, also known as Telone). The draft continues to allow for exposure levels that are fourteen times higher than California’s official cancer risk level, perpetuating environmental racism and endangering vulnerable communities. DPR’s proposal 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. For decades, 1,3-D has harmed communities - particularly Latinx and indigenous - which are disproportionately exposed to the pesticide. The state’s own toxicologists at the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) have set a 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, DPR proposes implementing only 100-foot buffer zones, entirely inadequate for protections against a fumigant that can drift for miles at harmful levels. I demand that DPR 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. Regulations should be grounded in science, not corporate profit, and must prioritize the health and safety of California’s most vulnerable residents. Thank you,

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