Emergency order to stop use of harmful pesticide in US
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an emergency order banning the use of a pesticide which poses serious risks to unborn babies.
The order issued this week applies to the pesticide, Dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA or Dacthal) which was registered to control weeds in both agricultural and non-agricultural settings.
It was primarily used by US growers on crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions.
This is the first time in almost four decades that the EPA has taken this type of emergency action, following several years of efforts to get more information to assess the risk this pesticide poses.
The EPA said that unborn babies whose pregnant mothers are exposed to DCPA could experience changes to foetal thyroid hormone levels.
These changes are generally linked to low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ, and impaired motor skills later in life, some of which may be irreversible.
Michal Freedhoff, the EPA's assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said that "DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately".
“It’s EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems.
"That’s why for the first time in almost 40 years, EPA is using its emergency suspension authority to stop the use of a pesticide," he said.
The EPA estimated that some pregnant individuals handling DCPA products could be subjected to exposures four to 20 times greater than what the agency has estimated is safe for unborn babies.
The chemical has been prohibited for use on crops in the European Union since 2009.
In deciding whether to issue the emergency order, the EPA consulted with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to understand how growers use DCPA and alternatives to this pesticide.
In 2013, the agency requested that AMVAC Chemical Corporation, the sole manufacturer of DCPA, submit more than 20 studies to support the existing registrations of DCPA.
Several of the studies that AMVAC submitted were considered insufficient by the EPA, while other studies were not submitted at all.
In December, AMVAC voluntarily pulled all Dacthal used on turf, but the EPA said that "unacceptable risks from other uses remained".
The EPA said that this week's emergency order is effective immediately.
"EPA determined that the continued sale and use of DCPA products during the time it would take to follow the normal cancellation process poses an imminent hazard to unborn babies
"While AMVAC has attempted to address these concerns, EPA has determined there are no practical mitigation measures that can be put in place to allow DCPA’s continued use," the agency said.
The EPA intends to issue a notice of intent to cancel the DCPA products within the next 90 days.
Mily Trevino Sauceda, executive director of Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, also known as the National Farmworkers Women’s Alliance, said that the EPA had made a "historic decision".
"As an organisation led by farmworker women, we know intimately the harm that pesticides, including dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA or Dacthal), can inflict on our bodies and communities.
"This emergency decision is a great first step that we hope will be in a series of others that are based on listening to farmworkers, protecting our reproductive health, and safeguarding our families,” she said.
