California regulators on Wednesday announced that they will ban a widely used pesticide that had been rescued from elimination by the Trump administration despite links to developmental disorders.

The move by the state Environmental Protection Agency is all but certain to draw legal challenges from Corteva Agriscience (formerly Dow AgroSciences), which has pushed back at attempts by environmentalists to ban the chemical, chlorpyrifos, on a federal level.

The state is the largest user of chlorpyrifos — more than 900,000 pounds of it was applied in 2017 to almonds, grapes, citrus, alfalfa, stone fruit, cotton and other crops, according to state data.

Exposure to the organophosphate nerve agent has been linked to developmental disorders and neurological damage in animals and humans. </s> California regulators on Wednesday took formal legal steps to ban a widely used pesticide that had been rescued from elimination by the Trump administration.

The move by the state Environmental Protection Agency is all but certain to draw legal challenges from Corteva Agriscience (formerly Dow AgroSciences), which has pushed back at attempts by environmentalists to ban the chemical, chlorpyrifos, on a federal level.

The state is the largest user of chlorpyrifos — more than 900,000 pounds of it was applied in 2017 to almonds, grapes, citrus, alfalfa, stone fruit, cotton and other crops, according to state data.

Exposure to the organophosphate nerve agent has been linked to developmental disorders and neurological damage in animals and humans.

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The ban is the first time the state has unilaterally barred an actively used pesticide, and will take effect in 15 days unless opposing parties request an administrative hearing.

The federal EPA is unlikely to challenge California, which often goes its own way on environmental matters, including auto emissions and climate regulation. An official from the federal agency said states are fr ee to enact their own pesticide regulations so long as they are at least as strict as federal rules.

State EPA chief Jared Blumenfeld said California opted for an outright ban because it could find no way to tighten rules enough to ensure public safety without making applications of the chemical ineffective. In May, the agency announced it would revoke all chlorpyrifos product registrations, leading to Wednesday’s formal cancellation notices sent to 13 manufacturers and pest-management companies.

Blumenfeld called on his federal counterpart to refocus attention on the chemical’s hazards.

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“They have that same science; they have that same legal basis, and yet, based on what appears from the outside to just be politics, they’ve been foot-dragging — and in fact worse than that, not taking their regulatory role seriously,” Blumenfeld said. “We have to step into the void and take action where the federal government has failed to do so.”

The state has been gradually tightening its restrictions on use of the chemical, so “farmers knew this was coming,” Blumenfeld said. “The handwriting has been on the wall for some time.”

Although growers have cut their use of the chemical by about half over the past decade, they have been uneasy about the state’s earlier signals that a ban was coming.

The citrus industry uses chlorpyrifos to combat the Asian citrus psyllid, which can spread a disease that can decimate entire groves. The pesticide also is critical to controlling leaffooted bugs and stink bugs in almond groves.

“California farmers are resilient, but the long-term viability of our farms in California depends on proper support from the administration and renewed cooperation of the state’s regulatory agencies, especially in light of the many other unique and expensive regulations that place California farmers at a growing competitive disadvantage,” Tom Nassif, president and chief executive of Western Growers, a regional industry group, said in May.

Val Dolcini, acting director of the state EPA’s Department of Pesticide Regulation, said he was “quite confident” that a newly formed working group, including academic, agricultural, regulatory and environmental experts, would identify an array of alternatives to the chemical. The state has allocated about $5 million in grants toward that end, he said.

Chlorpyrifos has become something of a poster child for the Trump administration’s rollback of regulation, which has occurred at times in defiance of scientific findings about health and environmental harm.

Former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt halted an Obama-era ban that had been hastened by a court order, and his successor, Andrew Wheeler, has since extended the safety review of the pesticide through 2022. California, six other states and a host of environmental and labor groups have sued over those moves.

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A federal EPA spokesman said on Wednesday that the agency has responded to complaints about its decisions by expediting the review process — it now expects to make an interim decision by October 2020, followed by a public review process. </s> California regulators on Wednesday took formal legal steps to ban a widely used pesticide that had been rescued from elimination by the Trump administration despite links to developmental disorders.

The move by the state Environmental Protection Agency is all but certain to draw legal challenges from Corteva Agriscience (formerly Dow AgroSciences), which has pushed back at attempts by environmentalists to ban the chemical, chlorpyrifos, on a federal level.

The state is the largest user of chlorpyrifos — more than 900,000 pounds of it was applied in 2017 to almonds, grapes, citrus, alfalfa, stone fruit, cotton and other crops, according to state data.

Exposure to the organophosphate nerve agent has been linked to developmental disorders and neurological damage in animals and humans.

The ban is the first time the state has unilaterally barred an actively used pesticide and will take effect in 15 days unless opposing parties request an administrative hearing.

It was unclear Wednesday whether the federal EPA could challenge California, which often goes its own way on many environmental matters, including auto emissions and climate regulation. An official from that agency was not available for comment.

While most states follow the federal EPA’s lead on pesticides, California reserves the right to revoke registrations of the chemicals within its borders, said state EPA chief Jared Blumenfeld.

“Certainly, God knows, I cannot predict what this federal government will do,” Blumenfeld said.

“They have that same science; they have that same legal basis, and yet, based on what appears from the outside to just be politics, they’ve been foot-dragging — and in fact worse than that, not taking their regulatory role seriously,” Blumenfeld said. “We have to step into the void and take action where the federal government has failed to do so.”

The state has been gradually tightening its restrictions on use of the chemical, so “farmers knew this was coming,” Blumenfeld said. “The handwriting has been on the wall for some time.”

Although growers have cut their use of the chemical by about half over the past decade, they have been uneasy about the state’s earlier signals that a ban was coming.

The citrus industry uses chlorpyrifos to combat the Asian citrus psyllid, which can spread a disease that can decimate entire groves. The pesticide also is critical to controlling leaffooted bugs and stink bugs in almond groves.

“California farmers are resilient, but the long-term viability of our farms in California depends on proper support from the administration and renewed cooperation of the state’s regulatory agencies, especially in light of the many other unique and expensive regulations that place California farmers at a growing competitive disadvantage,” Tom Nassif, president and chief executive of Western Growers, a regional industry group, said in May.

Val Dolcini, acting director of the state EPA’s Department of Pesticide Regulation, said he was “quite confident” that a newly formed working group, including academic, agricultural, regulatory and environmental experts, would identify an array of alternatives to the chemical. The state has allocated about $5 million in grants toward that end, he said.

Chlorpyrifos has become something of a poster child for the Trump administration’s rollback of regulation, which has occurred at times in defiance of scientific findings about health and environmental harm.

Former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt halted an Obama-era ban that had been hastened by a court order, and his successor, Andrew Wheeler, has since extended the safety review of the pesticide through 2022. California, six other states and a host of environmental and labor groups have sued over those moves. </s> DowDuPont, which produces the pesticide, has criticized efforts to curtail its use and said it will hurt farmers who rely on it to control insects.

Blumenfeld said the state took action in part because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump allowed chlorpyrifos to be used after the Obama administration tried to phase it out. The EPA reversed course on banning the pesticide in 2017, after re-evaluating the science. Blumenfeld criticized that decision.

"We’ve had enough evidence, the U.S. EPA and the Obama administration, to say it’s really time to take action,” Blumenfeld told KQED Science. "California is saying enough is enough. We need to take action to protect human health."

The pesticide is also in jeopardy on the federal level. After environmental groups and farmworkers challenged the EPA's reversal, a 9th Circuit judge ruled in their favor. The EPA appealed to the whole 9th Circuit, but again lost, and the court told the EPA to issue a new decision by July, based on the scientific record. California based its ban on that decision.

Chlorpyrifos is in a class of organophosphates chemically similar to a nerve gas developed by Nazi Germany before World War II. Its heavy use has often left traces in drinking water sources. A UC Berkeley study in 2012 found that 87% of umbilical-cord blood samples tested from newborn babies contained detectable levels of the pesticide.

Dr. Gina Solomon, a medical professor at UCSF and a former deputy secretary of Cal-EPA, said chlorpyrifos is unusual in that it's one of the best understood pesticides because it's been so extensively studied.

"We know a lot about what it does to developing children and that science is the bedrock of the action that Cal-EPA is announcing," she said. "Many pesticides have been studied well in lab rats but in this case we actually know what it does to people."

Studies in cities where the pesticide was once used to kill cockroaches before it was banned for indoor use in 2000, as well as research done in rural farmworker communities, showed that chlorpyrifos harmed brain development in fetuses and affected reading ability and IQ, Solomon said. "It also led to hyperactivity in children. Even head sizes were smaller in children whose mothers were exposed to the pesticide.

One area that's less-well studied is the impact of the pesticide on people who consume produce that has a residue of the chemical on it. Solomon said with California growing the majority of fruits and vegetables in the country there could be a ripple benefit for consumers in other states.

In August 2018, a California-sponsored scientific review found that the pesticide poses serious health effects in children at levels lower than previously understood. In November, California regulators recommended new restrictions on the pesticide that included discontinuing its use on most crops.

While the ban — technically known as a cancellation — could take up to two years to take effect, the state Department of Pesticide Regulation has recommended that county agriculture commissioners adopt stricter rules on where and how the chemical can be applied, including larger buffer zones.

To help farmers make the transition away from chlorpyrifos, the state is adding a $5.7 million to fund safer alternatives.

The state's decision Wednesday follows years of lobbying by environmentalists and farmworkers, who pushed California regulators to ban the insecticide, one of the most commonly used in the country.

Blumenfeld, who was confirmed as Gov. Gavin Newsom's CalEPA head in March, said he’d like California to approach pesticides differently, by ending the practice of banning them only to replace them with something similarly toxic.

“We need to move to a place where we are using the innovative spirit that California has, to come up with alternatives that are safe and nontoxic,” he said. “Farmers are actually hurting out there. A great majority of fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in America are grown in California. With climate change, there are going to be more pests, different pests—pests aren’t going away, they will get worse. We need nontoxic alternatives.”

Kevin Stark and Molly Peterson of KQED contributed to this post. </s> California will outlaw the use of a pesticide linked to developmental problems in humans after President Donald Trump's administration scrapped plans for a nationwide ban, state health officials said Wednesday.

The decision to ban chlorpyrifos in the agriculturally rich state follows "mounting evidence" of serious health effects for exposed children and other vulnerable people, two California health agencies said in a statement.

Toxic effects including "impaired brain and neurological development" occur at lower levels of the pesticide than previously thought, said the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR).

Farmers using the product will have 15 days to challenge the ban notice in court before it comes into effect, the DPR told AFP.

Virtually all residential uses of the pesticide has been banned since the end of 2001 throughout the United States.

In 2015, the Obama administration announced that it intended to ban its use completely.

The measure had not yet come into effect when President Donald Trump was elected, and the Environmental Protection Agency reversed the decision in 2017.

"California continues to move forward to protect public health, workers and the environment" despite the Trump administration's move, the statement said.

In California alone, more than 940,000 pounds of chlorpyrifos were used in 2017—about half as much as in 2005.

New working groups will be set up to find safer alternatives to the pesticide commonly used for citrus fruits, almonds, cotton, grapes, nuts, alfalfa and other crops.

The European Commission announced this month it will recommend chlorpyrifos does not have its license renewed when it expires in January, following a negative assessment by the EU's food safety watchdog.

Eight European countries have already individually banned products containing the pesticide. </s> California environmental regulators announced Wednesday that they will ban a widely used pesticide in the state that can cause brain damage. The move comes two weeks after the Trump Administration said it would allow continued use of the product. </s> Neonicotinoids, the world’s most widely used insecticides, will be banned for use in fields within six months.

So this is crazy, but when you douse fields with strong chemicals designed to kill insects, bees get sick and die too. Isn't that strange?

With so many pesticides being used in big agriculture, is it any wonder that our beleaguered pollinators have been dying at such an alarming rate?

But now the bees in the European Union are getting a much deserved break, thanks to a ban on neonicotinoids, approved by member nations. Neonicotinoids are nerve agents that are great at killing and harming insects, including bees; they've been shown to damage memory and reduce queen numbers, among other deleterious imapcts. The ban will be enacted by the end of the year, after which these dastardly pesticides will only be allowed in closed greenhouses.

As Damian Carrington at The Guardian reports, the EU banned the use of neonicotinoids on flowering crops that attract bees, such as oil seed rape, in 2013. But further legislation came about after a major report was published by the EU’s scientific risk assessors. The research found that the pesticides taint soil and water, which leads to the contamination of wildflowers and later crops. Thus, any outside use at all leads to a high risk to both honeybees and wild bees. A recent study has gone so far as to find contamination by neonicotinoids on honey samples from around the world.

While pesticide makers and some agriculture groups say that the measure is overly cautious and productivity could suffer; others were quick to dismiss those concerns. The ban received great vocal support, inspiring nearly 5 million signatures on a petition at the activism and campaign site, Avaaz. "We call on you to immediately ban the use of neonicotinoid pesticides," notes the petition. "The catastrophic demise of bee colonies could put our whole food chain in danger. If you act urgently with precaution now, we could save bees from extinction."

“The weight of evidence now shows the risks neonicotinoids pose to our environment, particularly to the bees and other pollinators which play such a key part in our £100bn food industry, is greater than previously understood,” UK environment secretary Michael Gove told the Guardian. “I believe this justifies further restrictions on their use. We cannot afford to put our pollinator populations at risk.”

Meanwhile, the United States EPA is considering an application by agrochemical giant Syngenta to dramatically escalate the use of the harmful neonicotinoid pesticide, thiamethoxam. If approved, notes The Center for Biological Diversity, the application would allow the highly toxic pesticide to be sprayed directly on 165 million acres of wheat, barley, corn, sorghum, alfalfa, rice and potato. </s> The world’s most widely used insecticides will be banned from all fields within six months, to protect both wild and honeybees that are vital to crop pollination

The European Union will ban the world’s most widely used insecticides from all fields due to the serious danger they pose to bees.

The ban on neonicotinoids, approved by member nations on Friday, is expected to come into force by the end of 2018 and will mean they can only be used in closed greenhouses.

Bees and other insects are vital for global food production as they pollinate three-quarters of all crops. The plummeting numbers of pollinators in recent years has been blamed, in part, on the widespread use of pesticides. The EU banned the use of neonicotinoids on flowering crops that attract bees, such as oil seed rape, in 2013.

But in February, a major report from the European Union’s scientific risk assessors (Efsa) concluded that the high risk to both honeybees and wild bees resulted from any outdoor use, because the pesticides contaminate soil and water. This leads to the pesticides appearing in wildflowers or succeeding crops. A recent study of honey samples revealed global contamination by neonicotinoids.

Vytenis Andriukaitis, European commissioner for Health and Food Safety, welcomed Friday’s vote: “The commission had proposed these measures months ago, on the basis of the scientific advice from Efsa. Bee health remains of paramount importance for me since it concerns biodiversity, food production and the environment.”

The ban on the three main neonicotinoids has widespread public support, with almost 5 million people signing a petition from campaign group Avaaz. “Banning these toxic pesticides is a beacon of hope for bees,” said Antonia Staats at Avaaz. “Finally, our governments are listening to their citizens, the scientific evidence and farmers who know that bees can’t live with these chemicals and we can’t live without bees.”

Martin Dermine, at Pesticide Action Network Europe, said: “Authorising neonicotinoids a quarter of a century ago was a mistake and led to an environmental disaster. Today’s vote is historic.”

However, the pesticide manufacturers and some farming groups have accused the EU of being overly cautious and suggested crop yields could fall, a claim rejected by others. “European agriculture will suffer as a result of this decision,” said Graeme Taylor, at the European Crop Protection Association. “Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but in time decision makers will see the clear impact of removing a vital tool for farmers.”

The UK’s National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said the ban was regrettable and not justified by the evidence. Guy Smith, NFU deputy president, said: “The pest problems that neonicotinoids helped farmers tackle have not gone away. There is a real risk that these restrictions will do nothing measurable to improve bee health, while compromising the effectiveness of crop protection.”

A spokesman for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs welcomed the ban, but added: “We recognise the impact a ban will have on farmers and will continue to work with them to explore alternative approaches.” In November, UK environment secretary Michael Gove overturned the UK’s previous opposition to a full outdoor ban.

Neonicotinoids, which are nerve agents, have been shown to cause a wide range of harm to individual bees, such as damaging memory and reducing queen numbers.

Pesticides damage survival of bee colonies, landmark study shows Read more

But this evidence has strengthened recently to show damage to colonies of bees. Other research has also revealed that 75% of all flying insects have disappeared in Germany and probably much further afield, prompting warnings of “ecological armageddon”.

Prof Dave Goulson, at the University of Sussex, said the EU ban was logical given the weight of evidence but that disease and lack of flowery habitats were also harming bees. “Also, if these neonicotinoids are simply replaced by other similar compounds, then we will simply be going round in circles. What is needed is a move towards truly sustainable farming,” he said.

Some experts are worried that the exemption for greenhouses means neonicotinoids will be washed out into water courses, where they can severely harm aquatic life.



Prof Jeroen van der Sluijs, at the University of Bergen, Norway, said neonicotinoids will also continue to be used in flea treatments for pets and in stables and animal transport vehicles, which account for about a third of all uses: “Environmental pollution will continue.”

The EU decision could have global ramifications, according to Prof Nigel Raine, at the University of Guelph in Canada: “Policy makers in other jurisdictions will be paying close attention to these decisions. We rely on both farmers and pollinators for the food we eat. Pesticide regulation is a balancing act between unintended consequences of their use for non-target organisms, including pollinators, and giving farmers the tools they need to control crop pests.” </s> The European Union will ban the world’s most widely used insecticides from all fields due to the serious danger they pose to bees.

The ban on neonicotinoids, approved by member nations on Friday, is expected to come into force by the end of 2018 and will mean they can only be used in closed greenhouses.

Bees and other insects are vital for global food production as they pollinate three-quarters of all crops. The plummeting numbers of pollinators in recent years has been blamed, in part, on the widespread use of pesticides. The EU banned the use of neonicotinoids on flowering crops that attract bees, such as oil seed rape, in 2013.

But in February, a major report from the European Union’s scientific risk assessors (Efsa) concluded that the high risk to both honeybees and wild bees resulted from any outdoor use, because the pesticides contaminate soil and water. This leads to the pesticides appearing in wildflowers or succeeding crops. A recent study of honey samples revealed global contamination by neonicotinoids.

Vytenis Andriukaitis, European commissioner for Health and Food Safety, welcomed Friday’s vote: “The commission had proposed these measures months ago, on the basis of the scientific advice from Efsa. Bee health remains of paramount importance for me since it concerns biodiversity, food production and the environment.”

The ban on the three main neonicotinoids has widespread public support, with almost 5 million people signing a petition from campaign group Avaaz. “Banning these toxic pesticides is a beacon of hope for bees,” said Antonia Staats at Avaaz. “Finally, our governments are listening to their citizens, the scientific evidence and farmers who know that bees can’t live with these chemicals and we can’t live without bees.”

Martin Dermine, at Pesticide Action Network Europe, said: “Authorising neonicotinoids a quarter of a century ago was a mistake and led to an environmental disaster. Today’s vote is historic.”

However, the pesticide manufacturers and some farming groups have accused the EU of being overly cautious and suggested crop yields could suffer, a claim rejected by others. “European agriculture will suffer as a result of this decision,” said Graeme Taylor, at the European Crop Protection Association. “Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but in time decision makers will see the clear impact of removing a vital tool for farmers.”

Neonicotinoids, which are nerve agents, have been shown to cause a wide range of harm to individual bees, such as damaging memory and reducing queen numbers.

But this evidence has strengthened recently to show damage to colonies of bees. Other research has also revealed that 75% of all flying insects have disappeared in Germany and probably much further afield, prompting warnings of “ecological armageddon”.

In November, UK environment secretary Michael Gove overturned the UK’s previous opposition to tougher restrictions on neonicotinoids. “The weight of evidence now shows the risks neonicotinoids pose to our environment, particularly to the bees and other pollinators which play such a key part in our £100bn food industry, is greater than previously understood,” Gove told the Guardian. “I believe this justifies further restrictions on their use. We cannot afford to put our pollinator populations at risk.”

Emi Murphy, Friends of the Earth, said: “This is a major victory for science, common sense and our under-threat bees. The evidence that neonicotinoid pesticides pose a threat to our bees is overwhelming.”
California regulators announce a ban on chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate nerve agent used as a pesticide.