Protect Our Communities from Pesticide Drift
Protect Our Communities from Pesticide Drift
The House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs has scheduled an important bill to ban the carcinogenic fumigant Telone II (1,3-D) to be heard on March 5th, 2026 at 2:00pm in Conference Room 325 (and virtually). Testimony is due by Wednesday at 2:00pm (although late testimony is still accepted).
Please take a moment to submit testimony in support!
If you have not done so already you will need to create an account with the Hawaiʻi State Legislature website to submit testimony.
Support HB 1880 HD2: Ban Telone II (1,3-Dichloropropene)
What Does This Bill Do?
Beginning 1/1/2027, prohibits the use or application of a pesticide containing 1,3-dichloropropene as an active ingredient, such as Telone.
Why Is This Important? Sample Testimony:
Please support HB 1880 HD2 which bans the use or application of a pesticide containing 1,3-dichloropropene as an active ingredient, such as Telone.
Classified as a likely carcinogen in the United States, 1,3-D is currently banned in 40 countries.1,3-D is listed as a Prop 65 carcinogen and a Toxic Air Contaminant by the State of California. It is also a water contaminant.
Analysis of restricted use pesticide (RUP) reporting data in Hawaii reveals consistently high 1,3-D usage by 1-2 users across several years since RUP use reporting was first mandated in 2019. In many years it was the most heavily applied (total pounds) RUP in Hawaiʻi. Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been applied in Central Oʻahu. Upcounty Maui usage has been high as well, but seems to have dropped off in recent years. Usage occurs near schools, homes and other sensitive areas.
Telone can drift for miles from the application site. Reports have indicated that harmful levels can occur even when tarps are used. As a fumigant, 1,3-D is highly volatile, meaning it turns into gas and moves off-site, sometimes weeks after application.
Air monitoring has detected hazardous levels of 1,3-D more than half a mile from treated fields. One instance in California showed harmful levels from a source over seven miles away.
When researching alternatives to 1,3-D to treat nematodes in Hawaiʻi, there are several other conventional and regenerative solutions that are available. Forty four products are listed with the National Pesticide Information Retrieval System (NPIRS). Regenerative solutions include biological controls, cultural and physical methods, organic soil amendments and natural deterrents, which are often used in combination with soil care.
Support HB 1880 HD2. Please prioritize public health and ban Telone (1,3-D).
Mahalo for your consideration!
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