BACKGROUND Although ozone-depleting methyl bromide was destined for phase-out by 2005, it is still widely applied as a consequence of various critical-use-exemptions and mandatory international regulations aiming to restrict the spread of pests and alien species (e.g. in globalized transport and storage). The withdrawal of methyl bromide because of its environmental risk could fortuitously help...

Methyl bromide was commonly used in fire extinguishers in aircraft engines and in submarines during the second world war. Now it is widely used as a fumigant insecticide in grain stores.' 2 Mortality after intoxication by methyl bromide vapour may be high,' and is often associated with convulsions, usually resistant to standard anticonvulsant chemotherapy.' s We wish to draw attention to the co...

Methyl Bromide under Fire Methyl bromide is one of the most widely used pesticides in the world, a broad-spectrum fumigant effective in controlling insects, nematodes, fungi, and bacteria. Methyl bromide is also highly toxic to humans. In December 1993, the EPA listed methyl bromide as a stratospheric ozone-depleting substance subject to phase-out. The final rule, issued 1 January 1994, freezes...

a corresponding flux from the ocean to the atmosphere. This effect might lessen or negate the benefits to stratospheric ozone from a reduction in anthropogenic emissions of methyl bromide. In terms of costs to society from the ban, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation estimates growers in its state stand to lose $340 million per year in crop damage. Duafala says no single alternati...