Colorado beekeeper Tom Theobald never expected to become embroiled in a controversy between the EPA and the pesticide industry. But that’s exactly what happened when Theobald got hold of an EPA document revealing that the agency is allowing the widespread use

of a bee-toxic pesticide, in spite of warnings from EPA scientists.

So how did Theobald (pictured above) end up with such a contentious document?

Bayer, the corporation behind clothianidin (the pesticide in question), published a life cycle study about it in 2006 at the EPA’s request. The study was flawed–test and control fields were, for example, planted as close as 968 feet apart. But the EPA continued to allow the use of clothianidin, which has been on the market since 2003 for use on corn, canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers, and wheat (and which has been banned by Germany, France, Italy, and Slovenia for its toxic effects on bees, birds, and other species).

Fast forward to this year. Theobald wrote an article in the July issue of Bee Culture about clothianidin. Then an employee at the EPA called Theobald to tell him the article had led the EPA to review the pesticide’s original life cycle study before approving clothianidin for use on

cotton and mustard.

“They told me that EPA scientists

had reviewed the original lifecycle study and determined it wasn’t

scientifically sound, and I asked if it had been documented, if there was a hard copy,” he says, “The [employee] said yes, and I asked if I could get a copy.” And just like that, he had the proof he needed that the EPA had overlooked something that could be killing America’s bees.

“Everybody is keyed on the leaked memo, but basically it’s a public document,” adds Theobald. He just happened to be the first one to learn about it and ask for it. “The shock was that they did the study at all.”