US EPA begins to act on chlorpyrifos

Some 15 years after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned chlorpyrifos from residential use, the agency announced at the end of June that it may ban the neurotoxic pesticide from use in agricultural fields as well. The announcement came after a recent court of appeals decision directing the agency to act on a 2007 petition to ban the chemical.

 

Environmental health and farmworker advocates who brought the legal case are calling the announcement an important step in the right direction, and potentially more far-reaching, if the agency fully commits to a ban next year. EPA states in its report to the court:

 

“EPA intends to grant the Petition by publishing in the Federal Register not later than April 15, 2016, a proposed rule pursuant to 21 U.S.C. section 346a(d)(4)(A)(ii) to revoke all chlorpyrifos tolerances to address drinking water exposure concerns in small sensitive watersheds throughout the country.”