Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. failed to follow conditions required to conduct open-air field tests of corn genetically engineered to produce its own pesticide, federal regulators claim. In an Aug. 5 letter to the Des Moines-based seed company, the Environmental Protection Agency alleged Pioneer planted two experimental plots totaling about 20 acres, including one at an unapproved location in Hawaii, where major seed companies conduct research. The agency also claimed Pioneer planted some of the corn too close to other plots of transgenic corn at the company's research center on the island of Kauai. Unless Pioneer can negotiate a settlement this month, the EPA plans to file civil complaints against the company, which is owned by DuPont. Each complaint carries a potential civil penalty of up to $5,500. Pioneer spokesman Doyle Karr said the company followed EPA regulations. He said the company plans to meet with the EPA about the complaints. The EPA also has notified Mycogen Seeds, owned by Dow AgroSciences, that it plans to take action against that company, too, for failing to grow windbreaks around test plots and for growing the wrong kind of corn in border areas, also in Hawaii. In its letters to the companies, the agency invited them to provide additional information explaining the alleged lapses. The action marks the first time the EPA has moved to cite a seed company for violating a so-called experimental use permit, which dictates the terms of field tests for genetically engineered seed products. It also comes at a time of increased scrutiny of the new class of crops. First grown commercially in the mid-1990s in the United States, genetically engineered corn now is raised on about one-third of U.S. corn acreage and almost three-fourths of U.S. soybean acreage. Consumer resistance to the use of the crops in food products has prompted some foreign markets to impose special conditions on U.S. exports or to block them altogether. Resistance in this country has been more muted, but has grown as concerns have spread that the controversial crops might harm human health or the environment. Debate has escalated with the arrival of a new wave of engineered crops designed to deliver ingredients for human and animal pharmaceutical products. The government is looking at tightening oversight on several fronts: * Last spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued new guidelines for field tests. * More recently, the Bush administration proposed new safety procedures for testing and producing the crops. Public comment on that proposal is being accepted until Sept. 30. On Aug. 29, Iowa State University in Ames will host a public forum on the proposal. * This week in Washington, D.C., the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the crops along with the USDA and the EPA, held a two-day meeting to explore concerns about the allergenicity of the crops. Earlier this week, the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington announced the alleged violations by Pioneer and Mycogen. The group, which does not oppose genetically engineered crops but advocates stricter regulatory oversight, has asked the EPA to inspect all such field trials. The group also wants the agency to regularly inspect commercial fields of the crops on a random basis.:
