Last summer, after years of public pressure and multiple lawsuits, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was forced to do its job by banning the use of the brain-damaging insecticide chlorpyrifos on food crops. But that victory isn’t the end of the story for chlorpyrifos, nor is our fight over.
This neurotoxic insecticide is still allowed for use in agricultural fields where the crops are not destined for human or animal food. This includes at least half of corn and soy acreage in America, millions of acres, which is used for ethanol and biofuel. Chlorpyrifos is also used in forestry and by landscape maintenance companies. Conventional nurseries use chlorpyrifos on flowers and ornamental plants. Did you know that it’s also widely used on non-organic Christmas trees? Yep. So chlorpyrifos still poses a danger to all of us and the environment because of its widespread use in non-food sectors.
Banned in the EU, India, Israel, and Japan because the harmful effects of chlorpyrifos are indisputable, we must call on the EPA to finish the job and cancel the registration of chlorpyrifos, banning the insecticide fully, once and for all.
The EPA has opened a public comment period and wants to hear from you. Use this opportunity to urge for a full ban on chlorpyrifos. But that’s not all. The EPA is also taking public comments on two other dangerous organophosphate insecticides: diazinon and malathion.
Diazinon is a neurotoxic insecticide that was developed to replace DDT, but is just as dangerous. It was banned by the EPA for residential use in the U.S. in 2004, but is still used in agriculture. Diazinon residue was found in broccoli, collard greens and bell peppers according to the most recent USDA pesticide testing report.
Malathion is an organophosphate insecticide widely used in agriculture. It’s also used by residential landscaping companies and by municipalities in public areas as well as for mosquito control. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies malathion as a probable human carcinogen and there is strong evidence linking it to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Malathion residue was found in blueberries, broccoli, collard greens, eggplant and bell peppers according to the most recent USDA pesticide testing report.
It’s clear that these toxic organophosphate insecticides - chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion - must be banned. Widespread use of these pesticides pollutes and contaminates our water and air, and poses unreasonable threats to public health and the environment. Tell the EPA to follow their own mandate to protect public health and the environment, not agrichemical industry lobbyists, and cancel the registrations of all three of these dangerous insecticides.
The Public Comment Deadline Has Ended.
The comment period for this document is now closed. But, you can still help!
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