California environmental regulators announced on Wednesday that the state will ban the use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, a process that could take two years to complete. The state acted while the U.S. EPA is facing a court-imposed deadline of mid-July to decide whether to prohibit the organophosphate pesticide, which has been on the market since 1965.
Chlorpyrifos is used on dozens of crops, including corn, soybeans, fruits, and some vegetables, and to kill insects on golf courses, in greenhouses, and on utility poles, according to the EPA. Manufacturers agreed in 2000 to eliminate most homeowner uses and to restrict use on some crops. Environmental groups have pressed for years for a total ban on sales of the chemical.
“California’s action to cancel the registration of chlorpyrifos is needed to prevent the significant harm this pesticide causes children, farmworkers, and vulnerable communities,” said Jared Blumenfeld, head of the California EPA. “This action also represents a historic opportunity for California to develop a new framework for alternative pest management practices.” In a budget package this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom will propose allocating $5.7 million for research and technical assistance to find safer and practical alternatives, such as biological controls and integrated pest management.
“Gov. Newsom has done what the Trump administration has refused to do: protect children, farmworkers, and millions of others from being exposed to this neurotoxic pesticide,” said Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group. “Just because chemical agriculture wants to use a pesticide on our food that can harm kids’ brains doesn’t mean they should.”
Chemical giant DowDuPont, which makes chlorpyrifos, told the Washington Post that it would fight the California ban. The regulation would “remove an important tool for farmers and undermines the highly effective system for regulating pesticides that has been in place at the federal level and in the state of California for decades,” said a spokesman. “We are evaluating all options to challenge this proposal.”