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EPA Fines Biotechs for Corn Violations
(Saturday, Dec. 14, 2002 -- CropChoice news) --
Justin Gillis, Washington Post, 12/13/02: The Environmental Protection Agency fined two large biotechnology companies
yesterday for violations in growing genetically altered corn in Hawaii,
another black eye for an industry reeling from recent problems in complying
with government rules on experimental crops.
The fines, against Dow AgroSciences LLC of Indianapolis and Pioneer Hi-Bred
International Inc. of Des Moines, were relatively small -- less than $
10,000 apiece. There is no evidence yet that the experimental crops
contaminated others on the islands of Molokai and Kauai. But Wayne Nastri,
an EPA regional administrator, said in a statement that the rules were
important "to ensure that no pollen from the experimental corn is
transferred to other corn." Dow AgroSciences agreed to pay $ 8,800 to
settle charges that it failed to plant appropriate buffers of trees and
corn to prevent gene transfer from an experimental corn plot. Pioneer, a
subsidiary of DuPont Co. of Wilmington, Del., agreed to pay $ 9,900 to
settle charges that it planted experimental corn in an unapproved location
that was too close to other corn, a circumstance that might have permitted
pollen transfer.
Dow AgroSciences acknowledged an "oversight." The company said it followed
safeguards it believed were stricter than those in its EPA permit, but it
failed to clear the changes with the agency. "We are disappointed with our
performance in this instance," Pete Siggelko, vice president of plant
genetics and biotechnology, said in a statement.
Doyle Karr, a Pioneer spokesman, said the company understood its permit to
require that the experimental corn plot be planted at least 1,260 feet from
commercial corn varieties. The EPA, he said, is interpreting the
requirement to also apply to other experimental varieties. He said his
company will make sure it understands the rules in the future. "We support
a rigorous regulatory framework," Karr said.
The Hawaii violations follow problems in Iowa and Nebraska involving
gene-altered corn planted by ProdiGene Inc. of College Station, Tex. The
company failed to comply strictly with government containment rules, and
the Agriculture Department fined it $ 250,000. The company was also ordered
to dispose of potentially tainted crops -- a requirement that cost it about
$ 3 million.
The ProdiGene corn was genetically altered to produce a pig vaccine not
meant for human consumption. In the Hawaii incidents, the corn varieties
involved are ultimately meant for human consumption. They fall under EPA
jurisdiction because they are designed to produce a type of pesticide --
specifically, a protein that kills worms. Similar proteins in other crops
have proven safe for people to eat, though the corn varieties being grown
by Pioneer and Dow AgroSciences have yet to win necessary government
clearances. | |
