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Scientific research shows that chlorpyrifos, a widely used insecticide, is strongly linked to brain damage in children. These and other health concerns led several countries and some U.S. states to ban chlorpyrifos years ago, but the chemical was still allowed for use by farmers in the U.S. after successful lobbying by its manufacturer.
In August 2021, the Biden Administration acknowledged the danger to children and announced it would ban chlorpyrifos from agricultural use. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) revoked all tolerances for the chemical, which effectively stopped its use on all food and animal feed. That decision came a few months after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals directed the EPA to ban farm use unless safety for the chemical could be proven. However, in November 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit overturned the EPA’s ban, and directed the agency to evaluate whether chlorpyrifos can be safely used on some foods.
Despite trying to ban chlorpyrifos here, the U.S. EPA has interfered with efforts to reduce exposures to the neurotoxic insecticide globally, according to reporting by Sharon Lerner in ProPublica.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents more than 66,000 pediatricians and pediatric surgeons, has warned that continued use of chlorpyrifos puts developing fetuses, infants, children and pregnant women at great risk.
Scientists have found that prenatal exposures to chlorpyrifos are associated with lower birth weight, reduced IQ, the loss of working memory, attention disorders, and delayed motor development.
Chlorpyrifos is also linked to acute pesticide poisoning and can cause convulsions, respiratory paralysis, and sometimes, death.