Some commodities are treated multiple times in storage or shipment, and treatment with methyl bromide may be part of the quarantine requirements of an importing country.
Structural fumigation accounts for most of the remainder of the methyl bromide use in California.
Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has prohibited the production and importation of methyl bromide starting January 1, 2005. Thus, this widely used pesticide for the production and export of high value crops and commodities in California will be lost within the next few years. Several potential chemical and non-chemical alternatives to methyl bromide have been identified nationally and internationally. Some of the known alternatives are currently being evaluated in California. However, none of the alternatives known at this time have been adequately shown to be as effective or economical as methyl bromide within California farming systems.