A pesticide that appears to damage the health of children and farm workers has been banned from future use in the U.S. by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after facing a slew of lawsuits.

Sprayed on apples, strawberries, citrus fruit, corn, alfalfa, grapes, cotton, almonds, walnuts, and broccoli since 1965, the organophosphate pesticide called chlorpyrifos has been linked to intellectual impairment, loss of working memory, and reduced IQ in children, as well as damage to the prenatal development of infants' brains. It also impacts the health of farm workers.

In 2020, California, a major agriculture state, banned chlorpyrifos, but the EPA ruled that there was not enough evidence to do the same federally—until legal challenges resulted in a court judge ruling the onus was on the EPA to present indisputable proof that the pesticide did not cause harm in children.

As it could not do so, as of August 20th the agency banned producers from using chlorpyrifos.

The environmental-focused organization Earthjustice says it will continue its quest to ban all organophosphate pesticides from farms, even if they are used in non-food applications. One reason is because the spraying of the toxin is airborne and can drift to non-intended targets.

For now, "Chlorpyrifos will finally be out of our fruits and vegetables," said Patti Goldman, an attorney for Earthjustice. "Children will no longer be eating food tainted with a pesticide that causes intellectual learning disabilities,"

In 2017, more than half of the 10.4 million pounds of organophosphate pesticides sprayed on American soils were chlorpyrifos, meaning the ban will lead to the eventually decontamination of half of the total chemical burden—a huge victory for millions.

– Featured image: Lite-Trac, CC license

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