States sue EPA over pesticide that harms children

Six state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court against the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency for continuing to allow chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that harms children’s neurological development, to be used on food. 

The states are challenging the EPA’s decision, because it hasn’t made a determination, as is required by law, that the pesticide is safe.

“Chlorpyrifos is extremely dangerous, especially to the health of our children,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Yet, the Trump Administration continues to ignore both the science and law, by allowing this toxic pesticide to contaminate food at unsafe levels. If the Trump EPA won’t do its job and protect the health and safety of New Yorkers, my office will take them to court and force them to fulfill their responsibilities.”

Scientific evidence shows that even small doses of chlorpyrifos can damage parts of the brain that control language, memory, behavior, and emotion. Studies have found that exposure to chlorpyrifos impairs children’s IQs.

EPA scientists assessed studies and concluded that the levels of the pesticide currently found on food and in drinking water are unsafe.

The scientists estimated that typical exposures for babies are five times greater than the agency’s proposed “safe” intake, and 11 to 15 times higher for toddlers and older children. A typical exposure for a pregnant woman is five times higher than it should to be to protect her developing fetus.

An estimated 5 million pounds of the weed killer was sprayed on U.S. cropland in 2016, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The EPA was planning to ban chlorpyrifos early in 2017. But after the 2016 election, Dow launched an aggressive campaign to block that decision, said the Environmental Working Group, an environmental advocacy group.

Dow donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration activities, and its CEO met privately with then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Soon after, Pruitt ignored his agency’s own scientists and stopped the scheduled ban.  

Last August, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Pruitt’s decision violated federal law and ordered the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos within 60 days. However, Pruitt’s replacement, Andrew Wheeler, fought the ruling and didn’t obey the court’s order.

The Justice Department filed a petition on behalf of the agency, calling on the court to overturn its earlier ruling and leave chlorpyrifos legal. In April, the court ordered Wheeler and the EPA to make a decision within 90 days on whether to ban the pesticide.

Last month, with the court deadline approaching, Wheeler announced his decision to allow chlorpyrifos to continue to be used on conventionally grown food crops, such as peaches, cherries, apples, oranges, and corn.

European food safety regulators have found there isn’t safe level of exposure for chlorpyrifos.

The European Food Safety Authority said in a statement last week that chlorpyrifos “does not meet the criteria” for approval of its use in the 28-nation European Union, citing concerns over the pesticide’s risks to children.

Last week’s announcement said that the EU is likely to ban chlorpyrifos when its license expires in January.

“The EU is doing what the science demands: putting public health ahead of the narrow interests of the pesticide industry,” said Ken Cook, EWG president. “Tragically for American kids and their parents, the Trump administration is kowtowing to chemical agribusiness and allowing a dangerous pesticide to be sprayed on foods children eat every day.”

The attorneys general lawsuit was filed in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In addition to New York, the lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of California, Washington, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Vermont. Hawaii and the District of Columbia have intervene in the suit.