BILL NUMBER: SR 35	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 9, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Leno

                        FEBRUARY 8, 2010

   Relative to pesticides.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, Over 160 million pounds of pesticides are used annually
in California, according to the California Department of Pesticide
Regulation. This figure includes production agriculture and
professional pesticide use. It does not include significant amounts
of residential, institutional, and industrial pesticide use; and
   WHEREAS, Pesticides are ubiquitous in California's water and air.
A recent study by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation
of stormwater in Sacramento County, the Bay Area, Orange County, and
San Diego County found certain pesticides in over one-half of the
streams sampled. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation's
summary of testing of California wells found pesticides in over 20
percent of the wells tested since 1985. The California State Air
Resources Board has found pesticides in over one-third of the ambient
air samples analyzed; and
   WHEREAS, Federal law divides pesticide ingredients into two
categories, "active" and "inert"; and
   WHEREAS, Despite their name, inert ingredients in pesticides are
not benign or inactive. According to the United States Environmental
Protection Agency, an inert ingredient "may have biological activity
of its own, it may be toxic to humans, and it may be chemically
active"; and
   WHEREAS, Inert ingredients typically make up a significant
proportion of a pesticide product. Home use pesticide products are
commonly almost 90 percent inert ingredients and agricultural use
pesticide products are commonly over 50 percent inert ingredients;
and
   WHEREAS, Neither California law nor federal law requires that most
inert ingredients be identified on pesticide product labels.
Pesticide manufacturers often claim that the identity of inert
ingredients is confidential; and
   WHEREAS, Several thousand substances are used as inert ingredients
in pesticides. The human and ecological toxicity of these substances
varies widely. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has
estimated that about 50 percent of the substances pose at least a
moderate risk; and
   WHEREAS, Both the United States Environmental Protection Agency
and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation evaluate the
safety of pesticides before they are marketed in California. However,
most of the health and safety testing on which this evaluation is
based does not include the inert ingredients; and
   WHEREAS, Health professionals treating patients with
pesticide-related illnesses have found that it is difficult and time
consuming to obtain information about the inert ingredients in the
pesticides to which their patients have been exposed. Since 1994, the
American Medical Association has been on record as supporting "all
efforts to list both active and inert ingredients on pesticide
container labels and material safety data sheets"; and
   WHEREAS, In 2007, the California Department of Food and
Agriculture began an eradication program for the light brown apple
moth that involved widespread aerial applications of pesticides in
densely populated areas. Many residents of treatment areas strongly
opposed the program and, according to the California Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the California Department
of Pesticide Regulation, "public concern has centered on the
previously undisclosed inert ingredients"; and
   WHEREAS, On October 20, 2007, the California Department of Food
and Agriculture made public a complete list of ingredients in the
product that was planned for use in the light brown apple moth
eradication program. The department also stated that "the Governor
supports the public's right to know every ingredient in the product";
and
   WHEREAS, Lack of information about inert ingredients in products
proposed for use to eradicate the light brown apple moth continues to
be a problem. In the draft environmental impact report for the light
brown apple moth program completed by the California Department of
Food and Agriculture in July 2009, the department states, "Ideally,
in environments where a variety of pesticides may be used, the
potential for chemical interactions of inert and active ingredients
should be understood to minimize risks. Since the identity and/or
concentrations of the inert ingredients in each formulation are
usually proprietary, and the [Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act] does not require disclosure of these concentrations,
it was not possible to estimate concentrations or evaluate health
risks of most inert ingredients in the formulations considered for
use"; and
   WHEREAS, On December 22, 2009, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency announced in a news release that the "EPA Seeks to
Disclose Pesticide Inert Ingredients." The agency asked for public
comment on options for disclosing inert ingredients in pesticides and
stated, "Revealing inert ingredients will help consumers make
informed decisions and will better protect public health and the
environment"; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
urges the Governor  and the Attorney General  to
request the United States Environmental Protection Agency to act
expeditiously to protect public health and the environment by
requiring the disclosure of the identity of inert ingredients on
pesticide product labels; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Senate urges the Governor  and the
Attorney General  to request the United States Environmental
Protection Agency to require the identification of hazardous inert
ingredients as quickly as possible and begin the process of requiring
disclosure of all inert ingredients, absent a finding that
disclosure of a particular ingredient will cause competitive harm;
and be it further
   Resolved, That the Senate urges the Governor's  and the
Attorney General's  continued support of the public's right
to know every ingredient in pesticide products; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.