Why is the US government pursuing a Critical Use Exemption for some methyl bromide users?
Methyl bromide is being phased out under the Montreal Protocol, an environmental treaty of the United Nations. The Montreal Protocol rules, agreed to by all parties, allow the granting of Critical Use Exemptions (CUE). An exhaustive, objective review by US government and university scientists confirmed that viable alternatives do not exist for almost 40% of the uses, including sanitizing grain mills. How often is it used? Grain mills are typically fumigated 1-3 times annually. Between fumigations, mills are subjected to a strict cleaning regimen in an attempt to minimize the need for fumigating. However, some treatment is necessary as insects are present in the grain as it arrives from the farm. How is it used? Grain millers use methyl bromide to fumigate the physical mill structure and the equipment contained in the mill. They usually do not use it to fumigate raw wheat, corn or oats nor processed products like flour. The mill structure is completely evacuated except for the trained a
