An updated risk assessment for chlorpyrifos, a pesticide, shows “additional restrictions may be necessary to ensure that workers who use or work around areas treated with chlorpyrifos are protected and that drinking water sources are protected,” says an EPA release. “The agency will now begin work on measures to reduce these risks.”
The assessment found risks to workers who mix, load and apply the pesticide and in limited areas to drinking water from small watersheds where the pesticide is used. Since 2000, EPA has curtailed most household uses of chlorpyrifos as well as use of the pesticide on tomatoes, apples, citrus and tree nuts.