Methdol Iodide Essay

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Is Methyl Iodide Worth It? Chinese author Pearl S. Buck accentuates in her epic novel The Good Earth that “each [person] has their own turn at the earth...at some point in time everything will return back to the earth” (Buck, 30). Buck emphasizes how civilizations, empires, fortunes inevitably rise and fall, however the earth remains perpetual. Therefore, it is mankind’s moral obligation to take responsibility in moderating regulations to keep earth’s resources clean and pure, before the damages reach catastrophic proportions. To begin, methyl bromide has been banned under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Erickson, 1). Recently the Environmental Protection Agency has approved its chemical sister methyl iodide (iodomethane) as a replacement for soil fumigant (ARC). Fumigants are volatile compounds used as pesticides or disinfectants to control soil borne diseases (Erickson, 1). However, fumigants are contentious due to their potentially dangerous nature if not handled properly. In retrospect, methyl iodide is a better fumigant than methyl bromide for multiplicity of reasons. First, methyl iodide is a liquid which is easy to handle and is highly unstable making it react with the air and water before being transported to the stratospheric ozone layer making it incapable of damaging the ozone (Erickson, 2). However, there are repercussions to using methyl iodide as a soil fumigant, the toxic gas potential to evaporate from the soil poses a threat to groundwater contamination. The issues concerning product labeling to protect farm workers is that the innocent bystander inhalation exposure levels increase exacerbating respiratory diseases to neighboring towns (Erickson, 2). Most farm works in this country are depicted with a rural stigma and are considered the lower end jobs given to immigrants. Unfortunately these farm

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