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antine uses by TEAP over two days of
dogged negotiations.
The U.S. delegation, led by the Environmental
Protection Agency’s Tom
Land, strongly opposed the proposal,
finally informing the contact group that
the United States was weary of TEAP’s
tendency to stray from the parameters
of its appointed task and its chastising
of the United States for its methyl
bromide policy, and its use of special
projects as an opportunity to advocate
its positions on methyl bromide policy.
Additionally, he reminded the contact
group that the quarantine uses of methyl
bromide are exempt from regulation
under the Montreal Protocol treaty.
No consensus was reached on the
proposal, which was tabled for discussion
at the meeting of the Parties next
November in Geneva, Switzerland.
EU methyl bromide alternatives
database
The EU unveiled the beta version
of an impressive database designed
for regulatory authorities looking for
10 Citrograph September/October 2012
alternatives to methyl bromide for
quarantine use. The database was developed
and presented at an EU-sponsored
luncheon by Tom Bachelor, who
is acting as a consultant to the EU. He
gave an excellent presentation on the
features of the database including the
array of alternatives, regulatory status
of alternatives, the cost of potential alternatives
and search modules for target
pests or pathway species. The EU
reported that the database will be completed
in time for November’s Meeting
of the Parties.
While the EU did not elaborate
on how the database will be used, it is
obvious that it will be used to advance
EU positions within the Protocol and
to lobby individual Parties on how they
could voluntarily reduce methyl bromide
use.
Analysis
In the short term, it does not appear
likely that the EU will be successful
in removing the quarantine exemption
within the Protocol as long as the
U.S. delegation continues its steadfast
opposition.
Nevertheless, new and bolder proposals
should be expected from the EU
with support from TEAP. In its 2009
report on quarantine uses, TEAP concluded
that 80 percent of those uses
could be replaced by alternatives. This
remains the goal of TEAP and the EU.
The Montreal Protocol is the
international treaty governing the
protection of the ozone layer. The
Protocol represents all the international
treaties requiring countries to
end production of ozone-depleting
chemicals. These chemicals include
fire retardants, refrigerants, and fumigants
such as methyl bromide.
Under the Montreal Protocol,
technical bodies report on the science
of ozone depletion, implement
projects to help move away from
ozone-depleting substances, and
provide a forum for policy discussions.
The United States government
sends a delegation of agency officials
from the Department of State,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Food and Drug Administration and
U.S. Department of Agriculture to
participate in policy discussions that
impact U.S. businesses and citizens.
The California Citrus Quality
Council participates in the meetings
as a non-governmental organization
and provides technical advice to the
U.S. delegation on policies that impact
the California citrus industry.
Additionally, the combination of
TEAP’s activism and the EU’s constant
attacks gives the impression that
quarantine uses should face greater
scrutiny. As these attacks continue,
there is increasing danger that individual
countries could independently take
action to reduce the quarantine uses of
methyl bromide.
We will continue to monitor the
issue, explore alternatives to methyl
bromide, and urge USDA’s Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) to advocate for appropriate
and judicious use of methyl bromide
for quarantine purposes among its
global phytosanitary counterparts.
Jim Cranney is President of the
California Citrus Quality Council
(CCQC).l