Despite evidence on its health hazards, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided not to ban the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos, which is linked to brain damage in children.
The EPA said “critical questions remained regarding the significance of the data”1 on neurological impacts on children. Their decision on July 18 came the same day as a court-imposed deadline to respond to the value of a lawsuit from an alliance of environmental and farmworker groups. The agency said in a statement:
“EPA has determined that their objections must be denied because the data available are not sufficiently valid, complete or reliable to meet petitioners’ burden to present evidence demonstrating that the tolerances are not safe.”2
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Chlorpyrifos was introduced in 1965 by Dow Chemical (now Corteva Agriscience). It was found to be dangerous enough to humans that in 2000, the U.S. government banned it from residential use. However, it is still one of the most widely used insecticides for several major crops, including nuts, fruits, corn, broccoli, and soybeans. This agricultural use continued even after researchers discovered that pregnant women who lived near farms that sprayed chlorpyrifos had increased risks of having a child with autism. The chemical is also currently in use in non-agricultural applications like golf courses.
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The EPA’s unfortunate decision to allow continued use of chlorpyrifos will likely land the agency back in court soon. Patti Goldman, an attorney with Earthjustice, who served as co-counsel for the petitioners, said:
“By allowing chlorpyrifos to stay in our fruits and vegetables, the EPA is breaking the law and neglecting the overwhelming scientific evidence that this pesticide harms children’s brains.”2
A ban on chlorpyrifos was proposed in 2015. But in March 2017, Scott Pruitt, former EPA Administrator called for a reassessment. This prompted the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and other petitioners to sue the EPA. They argued that under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the EPA is obligated to remove any pesticide from the market if residues of that chemical pose a risk to human health.
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In August 2018, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with the petitioners. They ordered the EPA to revoke all food tolerances and cancel all registrations for chlorpyrifos.
The court, in February 2019, granted the EPA’s request for a rehearing of the case before the court’s entire panel of eleven judges. After the rehearing, the panel directed the EPA to issue “a full and fair decision” on LULAC’s objections within 90 days. Sadly, they decided not to ban chlorpyrifos.
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Chlorpyrifos was originally developed as an alternative to the toxic pesticide DDT, which itself was a substitute for lead arsenate.
Chlorpyrifos is extremely dangerous – it belongs to the same class of chemicals as sarin gas, a class called organophosphates. Chlorpyrifos is a nerve agent, attacking chemical pathways and causing a breakdown in the ability of nerves to communicate. You can be exposed to it by inhaling it, eating it, or getting it on your skin.
Researchers at Columbia University recently found that children exposed to chlorpyrifos in the womb experienced several neurodevelopmental issues, occurring many years later. Such as weakened reflexes, higher risks of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and other developmental disorders.
Another team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, discovered that 87% of blood samples taken from the umbilical cord of newborn babies contained detectable levels of the toxic pesticide.
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Erik Olson, senior director for health and food at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said:
“Scientists have repeatedly made it clear that chlorpyrifos is linked to long-term harm to kids’ brains. But the current administration just keeps thumbing its nose at the science. Our leaders have a responsibility to protect our most vulnerable residents—our kids—but this administration chooses instead to protect its deep-pocketed allies in the chemical industry. Until EPA gets this stuff out of our fields and off our food, this fight is not over.”2
Corteva said in a statement that it supports the EPA’s decision and that there are “more than 4,000 studies and reports examining the product in terms of health, safety and the environment.”2 Corteva spokesman, Gregg Schmidt, said in a statement that the company would support the continued review of chlorpyrifos and was open to possible restrictions in the future, adding:
“We are committed to working with the Agency as it seeks to make an accurate assessment and, if necessary, reduce potential exposures, while also ensuring that growers for whom chlorpyrifos is a critical tool can continue to use the product safely.”1
Several states, including New York, California, and Hawaii have announced plans to either phase out or ban the chemical entirely in the next few years. Canada is currently considering a near-complete ban on agricultural uses of chlorpyrifos.
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Furthermore, Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) has sponsored a bill (S. 921) that aims to ban the chemical across the nation. The bill has attracted cosponsors from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and thirteen democrats.
Earthjustice’s Goldman said that with previous pesticide bans, such as DDT, the EPA gave companies every chance to decide to discontinue using a problematic pesticide voluntarily. She added:
“And given the decisions by big agricultural states like California and New York, the writing is now officially on the wall for chlorpyrifos.”
Not only is chlorpyrifos toxic to human, studies show it is very toxic to birds and insects, including bees, and is quite toxic to fish. Clearly, it is time to stop using this harmful chemical altogether.
