Monday, August 01, 2016

Bayer to halt U.S. sales of Belt, insecticide EPA ruled harmful to the environment

German chemicals company Bayer AG announced on Friday that it "will halt future U.S. sales of an insecticide that can be used on more than 200 crops, after losing a fight with the Environmental Protection Agency," Tom Polansek reports for Reuters. EPA said flubendiamide, marketed in the U.S. as Belt, poses risks to the environment. Flubendiamide is registered for use on crops such as soybeans, almonds and tobacco, for "as many as six applications per year, according to EPA."

Bayer, which maintains that flubendiamide is safe, said in a statement that EPA's actions are "unlawful and inconsistent with sound regulatory risk assessment practices," Polansek writes. An EPA board "ruled that farmers and retailers will be allowed to use their existing supplies of the chemical," Polansek reports.

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