Companies give up fight over pesticide

California will ban the sale of products that contain a chemical linked to learning disabilities

“This is a big win for children, workers and public health in California.”

— Gov. Gavin Newsom on the ban of the pesticide chlorpyrifos

Chemical companies gave up their fight over California’s ban of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to learning and development disorders.

The accord announced Wednesday with the state Environmental

Protection Agency sets the stage for ending nearly all sales of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos by next year, a timeline that probably would not have been met if those companies continued to pursue a hearing on the issue. Instead, they will voluntarily withdraw their products, the EPA announced.

“For years, environmental justice advocates have fought to get the harmful pesticide chlorpyrifos out of our communities,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “Thanks to their tenacity and the work of countless others, this will now occur faster than originally envisioned. This is a big win for children, workers and public health in California.”

California EPA Secretary Jared Blumenfeld said the agreement “avoids a protracted legal process while providing a clear timeline for California farmers as we look toward developing alter

native pest management practices.”

The state has created a working group to identify alternatives to the pesticide, which will no longer be on the market after Feb. 6, 2020. California is the biggest user of the organophosphate compound, spreading 900,000 pounds of it on almonds, grapes, citrus, alfalfa, stone fruit, cotton and other crops in 2017, according to state data.

Corteva AgriScience, formerly known as Dow

AgroSciences, is the largest manufacturer of the chemical.

After ratcheting up restrictions on application of chlorpyrifos products over the past last several years, the state opted this year to revoke product registrations — effectively a ban. Companies led by Dow had requested an administrative hearing, which delayed implementation of the ban.

A small amount of granular chlorpyrifos still can be sold for some applications because the state has concluded it does not pose the same danger as aerially sprayed liquid forms of the chemical.