EPA to ban chlorpyrifos (Lorsban), pesticide linked to brain damage in children, from most agricultural use

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday a ban on the use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that has been linked to neurological damage in children, on food and feed crops. 

The new rule, which will take effect in six months, follows an order in April by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that directed the EPA to halt the agricultural use of the chemical unless it could demonstrate its safety," Coral Davenport reports for The New York Times. "Labor and environmental advocacy groups estimate that the decision will eliminate more than 90 percent of chlorpyrifos use in the country."

Chlorpyrifos has been widely used since 1965, under the brand name Lorsban, but increasing safety concerns and state-level bans have made it much less so in recent years and its leading manufacturer, Corteva, stopped manufacturing it last year. Advocates for farm workers, health, and the environment have long called for a ban after studies linked exposure to the pesticide with developmental problems in children such as low birth weight, reduced intelligence, and more. "The Obama administration began the process of revoking all uses of the pesticide in 2015 but, in 2020, the Trump administration ignored the recommendations of EPA scientists and kept chlorpyrifos on the market. That set off a wave of legal challenges," Davenport reports. In April, a federal court ordered the EPA to either ban the use of chlorpyrifos on food crops or prove that it doesn't hurt children by Aug. 20. The EPA beat the deadline by two days.

"In an unusual move, the new chlorpyrifos policy will not be put in place via the standard regulatory process, under which the EPA first publishes a draft rule, then takes public comment before publishing a final rule," Davenport reports. "Rather, in compliance with the court order, which noted that the science linking chlorpyrifos to brain damage is over a decade old, the rule will be published in final form, without a draft or public comment period."

Agricultural groups such as the Agricultural Retailers Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation criticized the decision, saying the EPA is taking away an important pest-control tool, and should have followed normal regulatory procedures.

It's unclear whether imported foods treated with chlorpyrifos will also be banned.