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Environment

Court orders EPA to act on chlorpyrifos

by Britt E. Erickson
August 21, 2016 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 94, Issue 33

EPA is under a court-ordered deadline to finalize a rule that would prohibit all agricultural uses of chlorpyrifos, a common organophosphate insecticide. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 12 denied the agency’s request for an additional six months to finalize the rule. Such a delay is not justified “in light of the EPA’s history in the matter” and “the court’s previous extensions,” it said. The court did, however, give the agency another three months to finish the rule, setting a March 31, 2017, deadline. EPA proposed to ban all uses of chlorpyrifos on food in October 2015 in response to a 2007 petition from environmental groups. The agency says that it cannot ensure that combined exposure to the pesticide from food and drinking water is safe. Exposure to chlorpyrifos has been associated with neurodevelopmental risks in children. The pesticide industry and farm groups strongly oppose EPA’s proposal. Pesticide manufacturer Dow AgroSciences is urging EPA to drop the rule, claiming that it is based on epidemiological studies from a single lab.

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