In 2018, Hawaii made history as the first state in the U.S. to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxin that causes significant damage to brain development in children and babies. CFS was there every step of the way, providing legal and policy assistance, helping draft the legislation, and encouraging public participation in the legislative process. In the following years, we kept up this work and helped to secure similar bans in New York and California.
Finally, in 2021, no longer able to ignore the pesticide’s harms, the EPA revoked all tolerances of chlorpyrifos, effectively banning all food uses of the toxic pesticide in the U.S. For two full growing seasons, the fight was won and chlorpyrifos was kept off our fields and food. But then Big Ag intervened, appealing the 2021 ban and ultimately obtaining a court ruling in their favor. This new ruling required the EPA to investigate whether chlorpyrifos could continue to be used on 11 crops — including apples, citrus, and strawberries — that a flawed 2020 EPA risk assessment deemed safe.
That brings us to today: The EPA has rightfully proposed a new partial ban on chlorpyrifos, but their proposal carves out exemptions for the 11 crops in question. We cannot accept any further uses of this disastrous pesticide on our food, nor can we continue allowing farmworkers, our children, and our communities to be exposed.
EPA is accepting public comment on their proposal right now - can you comment in support of a FULL BAN on chlorpyrifos?
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