WPHA RESPONDS TO NBC TV EPISODE

CONTACT:
Richard Cornett
Western Plant Health Association
Director of Communications
(916)574.9744 ext. 207
February 9, 2007

Law & Order's 'Loophole' Program Filled With Falsehoods

           On behalf of the Western Plant Health Association and its hundreds of members, who manufacture and sell crop protection products, we take serious issue with Tuesday night’s broadcast of the “Loophole” episode on the crime drama “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (Feb. 6, 2007).”
            The inaccuracies contained in the TV segment were too innumerable to address in this abbreviated reply, however we would like to point out a couple of glaring untruths touched upon in the episode, which seemed to focus more on the “shock value” to the viewers than on any real intention of enlightening the public about the facts concerning the testing of pesticides on pregnant women and children.
            Contrary to what the script offered up on the program, the testing of pesticides on pregnant women and children has been banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the issue has been revisited and reconfirmed to assure that this practice never takes place.
            More succinctly and to the point, the U.S. EPA carefully reviews each company’s application in introducing a new product, making sure that the correct protocols demonstrate that the proper research has been conducted and that the pesticide under consideration is safe for commercial use. The premise that was represented in this episode that these people would think that an application to kill roaches was for a “human drug” is simply ludicrous and beyond rational comprehension, as was your suggestion that such a fraud would be glossed over and ignored by EPA examiners.
            Lastly, the pesticide industry provides safe and affordable products to Americans and to the world. The industry has a long history of government regulation based on up-to-date scientific principles and reliable data and information. Every pesticide product sold or distributed in the U.S. must be granted a registration by the U.S. EPA pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act and this action ensures the protection of human health and the environment.
            We are very disappointed that NBC did not conduct a more thorough examination of the information contained in the episode, and we hope that in the future the network would address important issues more responsibly.

Richard Cornett
Communications Director
Western Plant Health Association
916-574-9744

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