chlorpyrifos

A group of Democratic Senators, led by Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, introduced a bill to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos over health concerns, after the EPA refused to take it off shelves earlier this spring. “Udall's bill calls for the EPA to conduct a broad review of the use of the pesticide to determine which groups are most vulnerable to its harmful effects,” says Reuters.

Although the EPA dragged its feet for a decade on whether to ban the insecticide chlorpyrifos, "it has now done what we ordered it to do" and made a decision, said the federal appellate court in San Francisco. For that reason, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals refused to consider a lawsuit by two environmental groups contesting EPA administrator Scott Pruitt's decision to keep the chemical, criticized as a risk to children and farm workers, available for use in agriculture.

EPA administrator Scott Pruitt "has moved to undo, delay or otherwise block more than 30 environmental rules" in his four months in office, a larger rollback in so short a time than the agency has ever seen, says the New York Times. While the Trump agenda has stumbled in many areas, all sides agree that Pruitt "is moving effectively to dismantle the regulations and international agreements that stood as a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's legacy," said the newspaper.

A coalition of seven states from California to New York states filed a challenge that asks the EPA to end the use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, widely used in agriculture but criticized as a risk to children and farm workers. EPA administrator Scott Pruitt denied in March a petition by environmental groups to ban the chemical and said his decision was based on sound science.

Pesticide makers sent letters to federal regulators asking them to "set aside" agency research into the risks to endangered species from three organophosphate pesticides — chlorpyrifos, diazinon and malathion — says The Associated Press. Dow Chemical (whose chief executive "is a close adviser" to President Trump), FMC Corp. and Adama, sent letters to the EPA and the Commerce and Interior Departments to argue the studies should not be used.

Saying he was using "sound science in decision-making," 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. Pruitt took a "final agency action" on the chemical, "suggesting that the matter would not likely be revisited until 2022, the next time the EPA is formally required to re-evaluate the safety of the pesticide," said the New York Times.

Last summer, a federal appeals court gave the EPA until March 31 — this Friday — to decide whether to ban or allow continued use of the insecticide chlorpyrifos, used on more than 50 crops, including alfalfa, corn, peanuts and wheat. Mother Jones says the new administration "will have to make a momentous choice" in its early days in office.

After three Hawaiian counties lost efforts to regulate GMOs and require pesticide disclosure on the local level, Democratic state Rep. Richard Creagan is proposing a change to a state bill that would require agribusinesses to reveal what kinds of pesticides they are using, where they are using them, and in what quantities.

The U.S. appellate court in San Francisco set a deadline of March 31 for EPA to decide whether to allow continued use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, says Agri-Pulse. In its decision, the three-judge panel said there would be no more extensions of the deadline previously set for this Dec 31. The EPA had asked for six additional months.

Hawaii’s legislature should “undertake a major update of [state] pesticide laws and regulation,” says a draft report commissioned by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, and by Kauai county.

In a one-page order, the U.S. appeals court in San Francisco set Dec. 30, 2016, as the deadline for the EPA to respond to a petition by two environmental groups calling for a ban on chlorpyrifos, an insecticide, reports Agri-Pulse.

The EPA "proposed a zero-tolerance policy for food-borne residues of a pesticide widely used on edible crops nationwide, effectively ending its application to more than a dozen food crops including tree nuts, soybeans, corn, wheat, apples and citrus," reports the Los Angeles Times.

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.

Honey bees show more resistance to pesticides if they eat a natural diet of pollen than artificial diets such as soy protein, say researchers at Penn State University.