The Not-So-Sunshine State

"The monitoring of pesticide use in Florida has become make-believe. It is Disney-esque," said Alex Simons, a former environmental specialist for Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Simons said decisions were "politicized" and decided by officials "in close contact with [pesticide] companies." Tom Greenhalgh, a former water contamination investigator for Florida's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), blamed state officials "who basically worked for DuPont and the other chemical companies." Greenhalgh added, "There is a lot of ground water in Florida contaminated by pesticides," but "studies never get published." Another former DEP employee, Theodore McDowell, testified under oath that there were "100 or so" times he was asked to "make statements that [he] believed to be false," in order to downplay "environmental damage ... caused by chemicals." When a meeting was held to address growing concerns in late 1995 or early 1996, a deputy sheriff told the specialists their meeting was illegal, ending it.