Ethanol plants shouldn't be using neonic-coated seeds, which risks spewing toxic contaminants into surrounding communities. Tell the EPA: Ban the use of neonic-coated seeds at ethanol plants. ADD YOUR NAME:
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John

In Mead, Nebraska, residents began closing their windows and limiting time outside to avoid the "acidic, rotten, dead" stench from a nearby ethanol plant that used crops grown from neonic-coated seeds. When they did breathe in the air, residents felt stinging in their eyes and tightness in their throat.

As it turns out, it wasn't just bad smells coming from the plant, but toxic air and water pollution that could lead to long-term health and neurological impacts in people and pets.[1]

Ethanol plants shouldn't be using neonic-coated seeds that risk spewing toxic contaminants into the surrounding communities. Tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Ban the use of neonic-coated seeds at ethanol plants.
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Neonicitinoids, or neonics for short, are some of the most widely used pesticides, despite their toxicity to pollinators and the risks they pose to human health. The most common use of neonics is in seed coatings -- planted on approximately 150 million acres of cropland each year.[2]

Part of the problem with neonic-coated seeds is that the pesticides don't stay on the seed. The pesticides are blown into the air, fall on the soil, and leach into groundwater. They've even been found on neighboring fields where pesticide-coated seeds were never planted.[3]

When ethanol plants use these seeds to make their product, we run into the same, dangerous problem. The neonics that coat the seeds can contaminate nearby waterways and the air we breathe.

In Mead, fermented neonic seeds produced a green, goopy mixture that was spread on farm fields, killed nearby bee colonies, and sent 4 million gallons of polluted wastewater into local rivers and streams.[4]

The EPA can prevent similar disasters from happening by banning the use of neonic-coated seeds at ethanol plants. Send a message today.
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PIRG supporters like you have helped tackle dangerous neonic pesticides with bans on some of the worst uses of neonics in 11 states and counting.[5] We've also won commitments from major retailers to phase out the sale of toxic neonic pesticides.

Now, we need to make sure neonics aren't harming our communities in ethanol production.

Add your name today to help ban the use of neonic-coated seeds at ethanol plants.
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Thank you,

Faye Park
President

1. Diana Kruzman, "How a Nebraska ethanol plant turned seeds into toxic waste," Grist, April 21, 2022.
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2. Steve Blackledge, "The loophole that lets toxic seeds kill birds and poison bees," Environment America, January 27, 2023.
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3. Aleksandra Leska, et al., "Effects of Insecticides and Microbiological Contaminants on Apis mellifera Health," National Library of Medicine, August 22, 2021.
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4. Diana Kruzman, "How a Nebraska ethanol plant turned seeds into toxic waste," Grist, April 21, 2022.
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5. Wendy Wendlandt, "What's being done to save the bees?," Environment America, June 14, 2023.
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