Court orders EPA to ban pesticide
Studies show that the chemical can harm the brains of children
A federal appeals court ordered the Trump administration Thursday to revoke approval for a widely used pesticide that studies show can harm the brains of children.
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gave the Environmental Protection Agency 60 days to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos.
“This decision to tell the EPA to do the ban is a pretty bold move,” said Kristen Boyles, a staff attorney for Earthjustice, who repre- sented environmental and farmworker groups in the case. “But remember the EPA itself said it was going to do this two years ago. The court is following the science the EPA released to the public in 2016.”
The 2-1 decision stemmed from a 2007 petition by two environmental groups to prevent the chemical from being used on food.
“This is one more example of how then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt skirted the law and endangered the health of our children — in this case, all because he refused to curb pesticide levels found in food,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
The groups cited studies that found children and
infants who had been exposed prenatally to low doses of chlorpyrifos suffer from reduced IQ, attention deficit disorders and delayedmotor development that lasts into adulthood.
“The EPA failed to take any decisive action in response to the 2007 petition, notwithstanding that the EPA’s own internal studies continued to document serious safety risks associated with chlorpyrifos use, particularly for children,” New York District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who was filling in on the 9th Circuit, wrote for the panel.
The Obama administration proposed banning the pesticide’s use on food crops, but Pruitt reversed course last year and decided to retain the pesticide.
Chlorpyrifos was created by Dow Chemical Co. in the 1960s. It remains among the most widely used agricultural pesticides in the United States, with the chemical giant selling about 5 million pounds domestically each year through its subsidiary Dow AgroSciences.
Dow did not respond to an email seeking comment. In past statements, the company has contended the chemical helps American farmers feed the world “with full respect for human health and the environment.” The company donated $1 million for Trump’s inauguration.
Chlorpyrifos belongs to a family of organophosphate pesticides that are chemically similar to a chemical warfare agent developed by Nazi Germany beforeWorld War II.
As a result of its wide use as a pesticide over the past four decades, traces of chlorpyrifos are commonly found in sources of drinking water. A 2012 study at UC Berkeley found that 87 percent of umbilical- cord blood samples tested from newborn babies contained detectable levels of the pesticide.
Under pressure from federal regulators, Dow voluntar i ly withdrew chlorpyrifos for use as a home insecticide in 2000. The EPA also placed “nospray” buffer zones around sensitive sites, such as schools, in 2012.
The chemical is used on fruits, vegetables and nuts. Hawaii has banned it, and California scientists have listed it as an air contaminant and developmental toxicant, saying it poses risks to children in the air, water and food.
Since Pruitt’s action, several states, including California, joined the litigation in favor of banning the pesticide.
The most recent figures available indicate the pesticide is used on 640,709 acres in California.
Use in California has declined from a peak of more than 2 million pounds in 2005 to 902,275 pounds in 2016.
“Children, farmworkers, rural families and science are all huge winners today,” said Kristin Schafer, executive director of Pesticide Action Network North America.
“The court that EPA’s job affirmed is to pro- tect public health, not industry profits — and found that their reversal of the planned ban of this brainharming pesticide was in fact illegal.”
“Some things are too sacred to play politics with — and our kids top the list,” said Erik Olson, a senior director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the plaintiffs in the case. “The court has made it clear that children’s health must come before powerful polluters.”
The 9th Circuit said the federal government has repeatedly stalled taking action on the chemical.
“The time has come to put a stop to this patent evasion,” wrote Rakoff, a Clinton appointee. Ninth Circuit Judge Jacqueline H. Nguyen, an Obama appointee, joined the ruling.
The United Farm Workers praised the decision.
“The EPA has put the women and men who harvest the food we eat every day in harm’s way too long by allowing the continued use of this dangerous neurotoxin,” said Erik Nicholson, United Farm Workers of America national vice president. “We commend the court for doing what EPA should have done years ago. The people who feed us deserve a safe and healthy workplace.”
Judge Ferdinand Fernandez, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, dissented. He argued the appeals court lacked the authority to order a ban pending further review by the EPA.