EPA to Burn Stocks of Banned Pesticide
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WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency announced Friday that its contractors will begin burning leftover stocks of the banned pesticide EDB (ethylene dibromide) in Texas next month.
Officials said the agency paid $2.8 million to buy 328,000 gallons of EDB after banning the pesticide in 1984. The pesticide, used to kill worms in soil, as a fumigant for grain and fruit and as an additive for leaded gasoline, is believed to cause cancer and birth defects.
The EPA has stored much of the pesticide at a chemical plant in Liberty, Mo., and will continue to receive certain forms of the chemical for shipment to Deer Park, Tex., near Houston.
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