WASHINGTON - The Bush administration announced new rules Thursday to allow U.S. farmers who grow tomatoes, strawberries and other crops to continue using methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting pesticide that had been scheduled to be phased out worldwide next year.
The United States was among a dozen nations that won continued "critical use" exemptions from the phase-out at negotiations in Prague, Czech Republic last month. International negotiators granted the United States request to continue using the popular killer of insects and weeds at a rate of 37 percent, or 5,550 tons, of the 15,000 tons used in 1991.
The new rules take effect on Jan. 1 and allow most of the methyl bromide to be used by producers and importers of crops, with the rest allotted to distributors and other users.
Agency officials said in a statement the rules they were putting in place represent "the most simple and least burdensome option."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=693&e=5&u=/ap/20041217/ap_on_go_pr_wh/methyl_bromide
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