Back in 2015, under the President Obama administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (E.PA.) overlooked scientific investigation that points out the necessity to ban a pesticide known as chlorpyrifos. Yet the research was conclusive. This pesticide causes serious damage to the cognitive capabilities of children at developing ages.
After dozens of scientific studies and relentless pressure from NRDC and other public health, farmworker, and community advocacy groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally banned chlorpyrifos, one of the most toxic and widely used pesticides on the market.
A Long History Of Pesticides
Around the world an estimated 3.2 million tons of pesticides are being used each year, putting over 2 million people at risk of pesticide pollution. (1)
The use of pesticides is nothing new, they have been around since civilization came into existence. Records show that by 900 A.D. The Chinese used arsenic sulfides to control garden insects. Before 1900 only a few chemicals were used as pesticides. Everything changed after DDT and the herbicide 2-4-D was developed at the beginning of World War II in the early 1940s.
After this, pesticides became an essential tool for farmers to control plagues in their crops. It seems like a blessing that helped them to boost their productivity and reduce losses due to diseases. It was only after that, that a major health concern was raised not only for the people working in the fields but also for anyone who consumed their products. (2)
If you are interested in finding more about the history of pesticides you can check the book: Pesticides, A Love Story: America’s Enduring Embrace of Dangerous Chemicals by Michelle Mart.
Who Is The E.P.A.?
E.P.A. also known as the United States Environmental Protection Agency was officially established on December 2nd, 1970 during President Richard Nixon’s administration. E.P.A.’s mission is to protect humans and the environment by developing and enforcing regulations that ensure that all Americans have clean air, land, and water. (3)
What Is The Pesticide Chlorpyrifos?
Chlorpyrifos is an insecticide… that is a type of pesticide that kills insects. Think cockroaches, mosquitos, and many more annoying bugs you have no doubt dealt with at some point. In 1965 chlorpyrifos was introduced for homes and farms by Dow Chemicals Co. Chlorpyrifos was able to get rid of all insects, so its use became popular in golf fields, homes, and other green areas. It was used all over the world.
Different studies started to take place after 1970 that investigated the effects of the pesticide on humans and animals. Research found out about the harmful effects of chlorpyrifos when it came in contact with your skin, inhaled it, or ate it.
But it was not until 2000 that this was banned from households. Though it continued to be applied to crops in over 40,000 farms.
Chlorpyrifos comes from the organophosphate family. It kills by attacking the nervous system, destroying chemical pathways, not allowing nerves to communicate. (4)
Research Studies
Various studies conducted by Columbia University, Stanford University, and the University of California at Berkeley had shown repeatedly that the pesticide Chlorpyrifos is neurotoxic and harms children’s brain by lowering IQ, damaging memory, delaying development, and reducing attention span.
There is also strong evidence that organophosphate pesticides such as chlorpyrifos damage the fetal brain when exposed during pregnancy.
This claim had been around since 2016 when E.P.A. scientists themselves found out that chlorpyrifos poisons food and drinking water and recommended it to be banned.
Despite all this evidence that indicates that this organophosphate pesticide should be banned, the E.P.A.’s previous administrator Scott Pruitt refused to acknowledge the results given by his own research team. The situation became only worse when the new E.P.A. administrator Andrew Wheeler stated that chlorpyrifos would not be banned in 2019. He only continues to reaffirm his position, justifying it by indicating a lack of raw data. Data that can not be provided, incidentally, due to confidentiality agreements. (5)
After seeing the repeated denial from E.P.A. that it’s solely concerned seems to be about the economical interest of chemical corporations instead of the wellbeing of children, supporting its decision by nullifying science research.
Finally Resolution
According to NRDC.com “After dozens of scientific studies and relentless pressure from NRDC and other public health, farmworker, and community advocacy groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally banned chlorpyrifos, one of the most toxic and widely used pesticides on the market.
But the victory was short-lived. After Trump took office in 2017, his administration announced a 180-degree reversal—without new evidence—and halted the process. (The decision came after EPA administrator Scott Pruitt met with the CEO of chlorpyrifos manufacturer Dow Chemical, whose company also contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural activities.)
In the end, science—and an administration unwilling to ignore it—prevailed. In response to a lawsuit brought by NRDC and a coalition of labor and health groups represented by Earthjustice, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found the Trump administration’s delays to be illegal and ruled in April that the EPA needed to follow through on the ban. After the ruling, more than 35,000 NRDC activists sent letters urging the agency to ban chlorpyrifos from our food once and for all. On August 18, the agency made it official.”
