California state regulators report that they have found detectable levels of pesticides floating in the air in multiple, large farming regions. Although state officials insist that none of the samples exceeded safe limits, environmentalists and anti-pesticide activists say the compounds pose a far greater risk than the state is willing to acknowledge.
According to a new state report, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, or CDPR, collected weekly air samples last year in Oxnard, Santa Maria, Shafter and Watsonville, and found pesticides in nearly 80% of the samples. Environmental groups say the testing demonstrates that these chemicals are drifting into nearby communities and being inhaled by passersby. The compounds have been linked to a variety of health conditions, including respiratory illness, neurological issues and some types of cancers, they say. All detected pesticides were found below state-established health limits, meaning they are “unlikely to be harmful to human health,” according to the CDPR air monitoring report.
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