Peter Coffey, Agriculture Agent Associate
University of Maryland Extension, Carroll County
In Early August, a federal appeals court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos, the active ingredient in several insecticides, including Lorsban and Dursban. Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate (OP), which was first introduced to the market in 1965 by Dow Chemical, and was one of the most widely used OPs in the country until 2001, when the EPA phased out homeowner use because of health concerns. It is still one of the most widely used OPs in agricultural use, so its ban will affect farmers nationwide.
Over a decade ago, the EPA’s position was that on farm use of chlorpyrifos posed little risk to consumers. Organophosphates act by preventing nerves from firing, shutting down the nervous systems of insects. The amount found in food is not considered high enough to affect human nervous systems in that way. However, about 10 years ago scientific studies examining the effects of low levels of exposure to children and fetuses found that there may be effects to the growth of the brain.
One of these studies, by researchers at Columbia University, examined the levels of chloropyrifos in the blood of infants. They found that by the time the infants were 7 years old, children that had been exposed to higher levels of chlorpyrifos scored lower on IQ tests. Other studies showed that genetics can affect how sensitive some people are to chlorpyrifos. After evaluating these studies and their results, the EPA came to the consensus that there was no practical safe level of residues, and as the former assistant administrator Jim Jones puts it: “it became, in my view, a very straightforward decision, with not a lot of ambiguity in terms of what [the EPA] would do.”
The EPA proposed a complete ban in 2015, which was opposed by Dow Agrosciences who claimed there was still too much controversy in the research to move forward with a ban. The EPA was required to make a final decision by March 31 of 2017, and in a surprise decision the administrator at the time, Scott Pruitt, announced that there would be no ban. Pruitt was appointed by President Trump, and has recently resigned amid allegations of wild spending of federal money and ethical abuse.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit heard the case against the EPA. The EPA has a duty to ensure that there is a “reasonable certainty that no harm will result” from the use of a pesticide. Federal Appeals courts consist of 3 judges and the ruling was 2-1. Judge Jed Rakoff, said that “the EPA presents no arguments in defense of its decision. Accordingly, the EPA has forfeited any merits-based argument.” The Agency, now headed by acting administrator Andrew Wheeler, has 60 days to enact the ban, but is still reviewing how they will move forward. DowDupont has stated they “will continue to support the growers who need this important product,” and that they will pursue other legal means to overturn the decision.
