For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Environment and Climate Research Center page,  Food Safety Research Center page, and our California News page.
When Arysta LifeScience abruptly pulled methyl iodide off the market this week, it cited the “economic viability” of the controversial fumigant, which is used to sterilize soil before crops are planted.

But at a hearing in an Oakland courtroom Wednesday, another factor emerged: Arysta was on the verge of losing a major lawsuit.

California regulators approved methyl iodide in December 2010, in the final days of the Schwarzenegger administration. They did so over the objections of state scientists, who said trace amounts of the chemical would put farm workers and agricultural communities at risk of cancer, miscarriage or birth defects.

Farmers rely on fumigants to support the state’s $2.3 billion strawberry industry but have struggled to find environmentally safe products.

Immediately after California approved methyl iodide, environmental and farm-worker groups sued the state, arguing that regulators broke the law in approving the chemical. The opening hearing took place last month.

But before the court could issue its opinion, attorneys for Arysta requested another hearing, to take place Wednesday. New details had emerged, they said, that would affect the case.

The request “piqued my curiosity,” said Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch, according to a transcript of the hearing. But first, he had an announcement to make.

“I have made a decision in the case, and I’m in the process of writing it up,” he said. Then, to the surprise of many in the courtroom, Roesch offered a candid explanation of his yet-to-be-released opinion.