EPA Bans Food Pesticide After Decades Of Controversy And Health Risks

After decades of controversy, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finally banned the use of an old pesticide that is neurotoxic and particularly risky for children. The EPA called the ban, which prevents the organophosphate insecticide from being used on food crops, "an overdue step to protect public health."

The new ban involves an older pesticide called chlorpyrifos, which has been used on a variety of crops including food. This is a problem because the insecticide is also a neurotoxin, potentially causing neurological development problems in kids and harming farmers who are exposed to the substance in higher quantities.

Steps have been taken to ban the use of this pesticide on food crops for many years, leading up to a 2007 order from a Ninth Circuit court requiring the EPA to make a final rule on the use of this chemical. The agency repeatedly denied the requests under the Trump administration, but things have finally changed.

Back in April, the court ruled that the EPA had "abdicated its statutory duty" by failing to move on the matter, bringing us to this week's announcement: the EPA has revoked all tolerances for the amount of chlorpyrifos that can be found on food, effectively ending its use as an insecticide for food crops.

EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan took a jab at the Trump administration in a statement about the rule change, saying in part, "After the delays and denials of the prior administration, EPA will follow the science and put health and safety first."