In one of his first major decisions as EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt denied a petition by environmental groups to ban the insecticide chlorpyrifos, widely used in agriculture but criticized as a risk to children and farmworkers. On Thursday, a three-judge appellate panel gave the government 60 days to ban the pesticide, which was originally developed as a nerve gas, said the Los Angeles Times.
An attorney for Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, said the decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, “is a pretty bold move” though one that’s justified by science and EPA foot-dragging. In 2015, the Obama administration proposed banning the use of chlorpyrifos on food crops, but Pruitt decided in March 2017 to allow its continued use, saying he had based his ruling on “sound science in decision-making.” Household use of chlorpyrifos was banned in 2000.
In the appellate decision, Judge Jed Rakoff said the EPA had failed to take decisive action on the 2007 petition to prevent the chemical from being used on food, despite internal studies showing serious safety risks, particularly for children. “The time has come to put a stop to this patent evasion,” wrote Rakoff. Environmental and farmworker groups hailed the ruling, said the Los Angeles Times. The EPA said it was reviewing the decision.