A petition filed with EPA calls for the agency to treat seeds coated with neonicotinoid insecticides as a pesticide, ending an exemption for the seeds. The petition was backed by three national beekeeper associations, worried the insecticides are a factor in population declines of honeybees.
The “neonic” seed coatings are popular with farmers who want to protect newly sprouted crops from damage by soil-dwelling insects. Coated seed is planted on more than 150 million acres of U.S. cropland annually, said the Center for Food Safety, which filed the petition. It says up to 95 percent of the insecticide is dislodged during seed handling and is blown onto surrounding plants.
Because EPA exempts the seeds from regulation, there is no monitoring of the impact on bee populations, says the petition. “Along with honeybees, wild bees and other beneficial insects are in jeopardy,” said the center.