Methyl Parathion Use in the Detroit Area

Detroit area environmental officials are initiating a crackdown on methyl parathion use. Methyl parathion is an insecticide used as a roach killer and has also been used to combat pests of cotton, corn, and soy bean crops since 1954. Due to numerous farm worker poisonings, however, the EPA severely restricted the use of the chemical in 1978 and banned its use indoors. Methyl parathion can cause rapid, fatal poisoning through skin contact, inhalation, and eating or drinking. Due to its nature, it can linger in homes for years after its application. EPA officials in Michigan and Ohio have spent more than five million dollars in decontamination efforts and residents must relocate for four to six weeks during the decontamination process.

The crackdown on methyl parathion began after a child's death in Detroit in 1994 was linked to the chemical. Hundreds of residents in Ohio have also been forced to leave their homes because of the presence of methyl parathion. Residents of low-income housing projects are the ones disproportionately affected by methyl parathion. Because of cockroach problems, these inner-city dwellers buy the chemical even though it is illegal, because it is the only way they can deal with the pests. These residents are then forced to deal with the sickness and possible death associated with methyl parathion. The use of this chemical is another example of how poor inner-city residents, usually African-Americans, shoulder unfair environmental burdens.

Source: Daniel Johnson "Illegal Use of Methyl Parathion Endangers Detroit Area Residents" Michigan Toxics Watch Summer 1995

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