The Environment Protection Agency last week announced it would not ban chlorpyrifos, although court battles likely are ahead to fight the action.
EPA denied objections to the agency’s 2017 order denying a 2007 petition from the Pesticide Action Network North America, and the Natural Resources Defense Council to cancel all registrations for the insecticide.
CropLife America says the decision “reinforces the integrity of the registration process, protection of consumers and the needs of farmers and health officials who rely on this vital tool.”
EPA claims there was a lack of evidence of neurological damages to humans from chlorpyrifos.
A court previously ordered the EPA to make a decision regarding the use of the insecticide.
The Pesticide Action Network calls chlorpyrifos a “brain-damaging pesticide,” adding the administration has “put corporate interests ahead of the health of children, workers and the environment.”
The organization vows to continue its fight to get chlorpyrifos banned.
Meanwhile, the EPA is expediting the review process for chlorpyrifos that is currently underway.