By Jessica Domel
Multimedia Reporter
Farmers, golf course managers and families across the U.S. may continue to use products containing the insecticide chlorpyrifos to battle flies, mosquitoes and other pests.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced it will allow the continued use of the insecticide, because the agency does not have enough information and evidence that it is a neurological hazard to justify a ban.
EPA’s announcement on July 18 was in response to a court ruling in late April.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted a petition ordering EPA to issue a “full and fair decision” on an objection to the insecticide’s use filed in 2007.
The League of United Latin American Citizens and several environmental groups sought a ban on chlorpyrifos and asked EPA to cancel all of its tolerances, citing concerns it can harm farm workers and children.
The court gave EPA 90 days to answer the petition.
Despite its rejection of the ban, EPA officials said they will take the groups’ concerns into consideration when considering the renewal of chlorpyrifos’ registration, which is due by 2022.
Following the announcement, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue tweeted that for more than 50 crops, chlorpyrifos is the only line of defense and is a cost-effective crop protection tool for farmers.
“We appreciate the EPA’s support of American farmers and producers in its commitment to fact-based regulatory oversight of crop protection tools,” Purdue tweeted.
Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate, is the main ingredient in products like Lorsban and Dursban. It has been used in the U.S. since 1965 to control pests such as termites, mosquitos and roundworms in both agricultural and non-agricultural areas.
Farmers may use it to target soybean aphids, spider mites and corn rootworm.
In terms of total pounds, chlorpyrifos is most often used on corn, according to EPA.
The insecticide is also used by golf courses on turf, in greenhouses and as a treatment on utility poles and fence posts.
Chlorpyrifos is labeled for use as a mosquito adulticide and in roach and ant bait stations in child-resistant packaging.