Video: Tom Walters Discusses Sulfuryl Flouride

Tom Walters, president of Western Pest Services, Parsippany, N.J., discusses the importance of sulfuryl fluoride and the industry’s position that U.S. EPA should withdraw its misguided proposed order cancelling the food uses for sulfuryl fluoride.

BACKGROUND: In 2004, EPA registered sulfuryl fluoride for control of insect pests in harvested and processed foods such as cereal grains, dried fruits, tree nuts, cocoa beans, coffee beans, and also in food handling and processing facilities. The fumigant is considered an alternative to methyl bromide, which is being phased out. However, the product has come under attack from the activist group FAN (Fluoride Action Network), which has a waged a lengthy campaign to remove sulfuryl fluoride usage in food-processing facilities. FAN claims the use of sulfuryl fluoride will introduce unacceptable levels of fluoride to consumers and can cause medical risks, mainly dental fluorosis, a condition where overexposure to fluoride can damage the enamel on teeth. However, even U.S. EPA acknowledges that sulfuryl fluoride contributes no more that 2-3% of the public’s exposure to fluoride, noting that “Use of sulfuryl fluoride is responsible for a tiny fraction of aggregate fluoride exposure” and “Elimination of sulfuryl fluoride does not solve, or even significantly decrease, the fluoride aggregate exposure problems...” Furthermore, over the last several years, US EPA has aggressively encouraged the professional pest management industry and the food sector to move from methyl bromide – a fumigant identified as an ozone depleting substance and slated for phase-out – to sulfuryl fluoride, and both the pest management industry and food sector have been moving in good faith to sulfuryl fluoride. Some groups in the food sector are now completely reliant on sulfuryl fluoride and the loss of the product would have devastating economic consequences. The industry’s position is that the U.S. EPA should withdraw its misguided proposed order cancelling the food uses for sulfuryl fluoride and Congress should closely oversee the Agency to see that it does so.