COCA SPRAYING POSES NO RISK TO COLOMBIANS, U.S. DECLARES

WASHINGTON, - The American-financed aerial destruction of
coca crops in Colombia meets United States regulatory standards and
does not endanger people or the environment, the State Department said
today in a report to Congress.

The department's antinarcotics bureau, which oversees the program,
concluded that the herbicides used and the manner in which they are
applied "do not pose unreasonable risks or adverse effects to humans
or the environment."

That determination, which was immediately deplored by some
environmental groups, could free money from Congress for an aggressive
advance in the effort to eradicate coca at its source. The department
has set a goal of killing up to 300,000 acres of coca this year, 30
percent more than last year.

The month-old government of President =C3=81lvaro Uribe has given American
officials wide latitude in carrying out the spraying, which will
involve 18 crop-dusting planes by year's end. But the program, which
began in 1994, has been trailed by controversy, both because of the
unknown health effects in Colombia and by its failure to curb the
overall amount of coca being grown.

Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat and chairman of the
appropriations subcommittee that finances the operation, said he would
need to study the report before releasing about $17 million needed to
buy the herbicide mixture.

Mr. Leahy froze that money in legislation approved earlier this year.
The law requires that the State Department certify that the
eradication program meets the regulatory controls required in the
United States and does not threaten the public's health or the
environment.

"There are reports of health problems and food crops destroyed from
the fumigation," Mr. Leahy said. "Spraying a toxic chemical over large
areas, including where people live and livestock graze, would not be
tolerated in our country. We should not be spraying first and asking
questions later."

In preparing its report, the State Department was required to consult
with the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection
Agency. While Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman reported that the
health risk was "minimal," the E.P.A. was less categorical, and State
Department officials refused to say whether they considered the
agency's position as positive.

In a review forwarded by Stephen L. Johnson, the assistant
administrator, the agency said the main ingredient in the herbicide
used in Colombia, glyphosate, known by the trade name Roundup, is
widely used in the United States with "no unreasonable adverse effects."

But the E.P.A. noted that an additive in glyphostae could cause acute
eye irritation. In the United States, the agency said, the herbicide
is typically sprayed from low-flying helicopters, not planes, and
steps should be taken to avoid having it drift away from the target
areas.