EPA bans use of harmful pesticide used on row crops
After a years-long legal battle, the Environmental Protection Agency announced in August it will stop the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on all food.
According to a press release Aug. 18, the EPA is revoking all tolerances, which establish an amount of a pesticide that is allowed on food, for chlorpyrifos. In addition, said the release, the agency will issue a Notice of Intent to Cancel to cancel registered food uses of chlorpyrifos associated with the revoked tolerances.
“Today EPA is taking an overdue step to protect public health. Ending the use of chlorpyrifos on food will help to ensure children, farmworkers, and all people are protected from the potentially dangerous consequences of this pesticide,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, in a prepared statement. “After the delays and denials of the prior administration, EPA will follow the science, and put health and safety first.”
The EPA denied the petition to ban chlorpyrifos in 2017 and again in 2019. These denials were challenged in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2019.
In April 2021, the court ordered EPA to grant the petition, and issue a final rule modifying or revoking the tolerances of the pesticide. The EPA decided to revoke the tolerances.
According to the EPA’s announcement of the ban, chlorpyrifos is involved in a large variety of agricultural uses, including soybeans, fruit and nut trees, broccoli, cauliflower, and other row crops, as well as non-food uses.
“It has been found to inhibit an enzyme which leads to neurotoxicity, and has also been associated with potential neurological effects in children,” said the press release.
Chlorpyrifos has been used by Delaware farmers, but Stacey Hofmann, Delaware Department of Agriculture spokeswoman, said, overall, the state does not expect the ban to impact Delaware’s farmers significantly. The state has known the ban of chlorpyrifos was on the horizon since 2019, when it went to the court of appeals, she said.
“We researched its use in Delaware during this time, finding it used in some industries, but for the most part, it was minimal,” said Hofmann, in an email Sept. 17. “The use of chlorpyrifos has been dwindling due to reduced production and the addition of safer alternatives registered to target pests.”
For more information on the banning of chlorpyrifos, go the Environmental Protection Agency website and search for chlorpyrifos.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories, random stories on subjects he finds interesting and has a column called ‘Choppin’ Wood’ that runs every other week. Additionally, Chris moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes during daylight hours that are jammed with coins, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
