METHYL BROMIDE IN AGRICULTURE FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL VIEWPOINT
KREPL, V., MUNOZ, J.
Abstract
Methyl bromide (MB) is a highly effective fumigant
used to control insects, nematodes, weeds, and pathogens in more than 100 crops,
in forest and ornamental nurseries, and in wood products. Its primary uses are
for soil fumigation, post-harvest protection, and quarantine treatments.
About 2 800 metric tons of methyl bromide each year is used in the world - about
75 percent to fumigate soil before planting crops, about 11 percent to fumigate
harvested commodities during storage and export, and about 6 percent to fumigate
structures such as food processing plants, warehouses, and museums, as well
as antiques and transport vehicles. The remaining 8 percent goes to the production
of other chemicals.
For example over $431 million in U.S. exports were treated with methyl bromide
in 1999 (the latest year for which figures are available). Required by the receiving
countries, these fumigations include apples and cherries to Japan, cotton and
peaches to Mexico, oak logs to Europe, and strawberries to Australia. The fumigant
is also used extensively at ports of entry on commodities found to be infested
with exotic pests whose introduction might cause irreparable harm to U.S. agriculture.
Key Words:
methyl bromide, pesticide, fumigant, environment, Montreal Protocol, field test
in methyl bromide alternatives