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Beekeeper says EPA needs to follow its rules

The past president of the American Beekeeping Federation says he’s pleased a federal appeals court has ordered the EPA to remove approval of some Dow crop chemicals until more tests are done and additional data is submitted.

George Hanson, a commercial beekeeper in Oregon, tells Brownfield the EPA should have never given Dow the go-ahead for approval of those chemicals which contain a neonicotinoid that is toxic to bees, “All we’re asking is that the EPA follow their own rules. And, those rules were set up to protect all pollinators and also it sets the ground rules for how we’re going to use these toxic materials in the environment. And, if the rules don’t mean anything I think that’s a real loss.”

The federation is a plaintiff in the lawsuit against EPA saying it should not have given full approval to the Dow products because some of the pollinator studies, and the effects of the chemicals on honeybees, had not been completed.

AUDIO:  Interview with George Hanson:

Dow responds to court decision in bee case