In addition to strawberries, workers in apples, grapes, lettuce, peaches and tomatoes face the pesticide. Captan is a cancer-causing fungicide. It is officially identified as cancer-causing by the U.S. government and the state of California, where it is widely used in strawberry fields. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently banned captan from use on 42 crops. It is still used on strawberries, as well as 23 other crops.
Workers absorb captan through their skin into their bloodstream.
Captan use is increasing, even though its used has been prohibited on many crops. According to the state of California, where most strawberries for fresh use are grown, captan use on strawberries has increased more than seven-fold in the past six years. All reported use of captan in the state has nearly doubled during the same period. And, in 1995 the EPA weakened restrictions on captan for strawberry workers. They shortened the period for entering captan treated fields from four days to one day.