Six major US groups complain about Clothianidin killing honey bees: USEPA refuses to take action
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| USEPA response to 6 organizations on Clothianidin.pdf | 1.04 MB |
Six major US groups recently sent a joint complaint on December 8, 2010 to the USEPA, about the risks to honey bees and pollinators from the pesticide Clothianidin (a nicotine-based or 'neonicotinoid' pesticide), following the leak of the internal USEPA report identifying risks from this chemical:
- National Honey Bee Advisory Board (NHBAB)
- American Beekeeping Federation (ABF)
- American Honey Producers Association (AHPA)
- Beyond Pesticides
- Pesticide Action Network
- Center for Biological Diversity
The leaked USEPA report on clothianidin can be found here. The attached reply from Stephen Bradbury, the Director of USEPA Office of Pesticide Programs, indicates that the USEPA does not intend to suspend use of this chemical. The most problematic statement in the letter, for me, is:
"...At this time, we are not aware of any data that reasonably demonstrates that bee colonies are subject to elevated losses due to chronic exposure to this pesticide...."
I believe this statement is clearly false, given the large weight-of-evidence accumulated by many studies (especially the European studies).
