Why pesticide should be banned

Without pesticides, there may be no practical way to stop termites from destroying homes and other structures. In short, the loss of pesticides would mean a return to a yesteryear when certain bugs were an unpleasant fact of life and pest-transmitted diseases ravaged the country. October 21st, October 7th, September 21st, Chlorpyrifos is just one of more than dangerous or potentially dangerous pesticides being sold for use in the US today.

The existing review mechanisms are not fast or robust enough to address the risks associated with these products. Exposure to chlorpyrifos is associated with a number of health risks, including endocrine disruption, suffocation, and adverse impacts on fetal and childhood development associated with prenatal exposure, all of which were outlined in the original petition to ban the pesticide.

In the decade that followed, the risks only became more clear. By , the EPA acknowledged that they could not conclude that use of chlorpyrifos met federal safety standards. But chlorpyrifos remained legal — and continued to be used — for six more years. Each year, the US uses more than one billion pounds of pesticides, nearly one-fifth of worldwide use.

In and , the EPA approved more than pesticides containing ingredients widely considered to be dangerous. And many are banned in other countries as a result. US agriculture uses 72 pesticides banned or being phased out in the European Union, 17 pesticides banned in Brazil, and 11 banned in China. These differences underscore how the US approach to pesticide regulation is out of sync with pesticide regulation globally. Banning chlorpyrifos on food is a historic victory for the broad coalition of activists who worked long and hard to get here.

Chlorpyrifos is one of many organophosphate pesticides that have been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders and even death. The EPA must protect people from the health harms of all these pesticides. The EPA is currently reviewing the safety of two dozen organophosphate pesticides and must complete its review by October What can I do?

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