EPA Bans Widely Used Pesticide Over Health Concerns, Reversing Trump Administration Decision - Forbes

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Topline

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it is banning the use of pesticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to neurological damage in children, after the agency during the Trump administration ignored the recommendations of its staff scientists to ban it.

Key Facts

The ban follows a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling ordering the EPA to prove it was safe for use on food crops by Aug. 20 or declare it illegal.

The EPA said in its order Wednesday it was unable to conclude that the pesticide was safe for use under Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act standards, and the ban on chlorpyrifos will take effect in 6 months.

Chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used pesticides, applied to crops including corn, wheat, citrus, apples and strawberries.

Crucial Quote

“This comes after more than a decade of science in which it became pretty clear that there were potential neurodevelopmental effects on children that were being observed at lower levels than people had previously thought,” EPA official Michal Freedhoff told the Washington Post.

Big Number

56 years. That is how long the pesticide had been widely used in the U.S., according to the agency’s website.

Key Background

The Natural Resources Defense Council and Pesticide Action Network North America filed a petition to the EPA in 2007 seeking to stop the use of the chlorpyrifos pesticide, arguing that it posed neurodevelopmental risks to infants and children. The Obama administration proposed to ban the use of the pesticide in 2015. However, in 2017 the EPA, under Trump appointee Scott Pruitt, decided to allow the pesticide to stay on the market, saying there were “serious scientific concerns and substantive process gaps” in the Obama administration’s move to ban the pesticide.