22
Aug
European Regulators Issue Warning on Danger of Chlorpyrifos Prior to Release of Full Review
(Beyond Pesticides, August 22, 2019) In early August, experts from European Union (EU) member states and staff members of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced their conclusion that chlorpyrifos fails to meet criteria for renewed approval for use, potentially moving the EU a step closer to an outright ban. This ends the green light that chlorpyrifos (and its structurally close cousin, chlorpyrifos-methyl) have enjoyed at the EU level since 2006.
That permitting is set to expire in January of 2020, although eight member states — Germany, Ireland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovenia — had already either banned or never authorized chlorpyrifos use in their countries. In the U.S., states are picking up the slack on efforts against chlorpyrifos use as, in the tenure of the current administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has chosen to protect industry rather than human health and the environment.
The step EFSA took was unusual in that the agency does not typically publish findings before ongoing peer reviews are completed. EUObserver.com reports that EFSA’s public statement was triggered by a July 2019 EU request for information “on the available outcomes of the human health assessment in the context of the pesticides peer review for the renewal of approval of the active substance chlorpyrifos.” That request was catalyzed, reportedly, by public and NGO (nongovernmental organization) pressure that arose on the heels of an article, “Chlorpyrifos — the unknown pesticide,” published by Investigative Reporting Denmark and initiated by them and Danwatch. That research and reporting were done in collaboration with journalists from Knack in Belgium, Le Monde in France, Dagbladet in Norway, Newsweek in Poland, Ostro in Slovenia, El Confidential in Spain, and The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting in the U.S.
The EU and EFSA experts included in their findings:
- a genotoxic potential for chlorpyrifos cannot be ruled out
- chlorpyrifos meets the criteria for classification as toxic for reproduction (REPRO 1B, H360D, “May damage the unborn child”), as set out in EU regulation (EC) No 1272/2008)
Chlorpyrifos is a widely used organophosphate pesticide used on approximately 60 different crops, and most intensively on almonds, cotton, citrus fruits, grapes, corn, broccoli, sugar beets, peaches, and nectarines. It is also commonly used for mosquito-borne disease control, and on golf courses. Exposure to the pesticide has been identified repeatedly as problematic.
Chlorpyrifos is understood to be a developmental neurotoxin that is especially dangerous for children, on whom exposures can lead to a variety of impacts: attention deficit disorder, developmental delays, lower IQ, and impaired cognitive function, among others. Prenatal exposure to low levels of chlorpyrifos can impair children’s learning, change brain function, and alter thyroid levels — even into adulthood, and especially in females. The insecticide is linked to damaging and often irreversible health outcomes in workers (farm workers and applicators, especially) and pregnant women, as well as in children.
There is history on the U.S. “saga” of chlorpyrifos use: “In 2015 the EPA proposed to revoke food residue tolerances of chlorpyrifos, which would effectively have banned use of the pesticide in agriculture; all residential uses had previously been withdrawn from the market in 2000. Then, early in 2017, with a new administration in place, then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed the agency’s own proposal to ban the pesticide — a decision that happened just weeks after Mr. Pruitt met with the head of Dow Chemical Company, maker of the compound. Mr. Pruitt then falsely claimed the science on chlorpyrifos was ‘unresolved’ and said EPA would study the issue — with no planned action — until 2022.”
Meanwhile, states have moved to do what federal agencies have been unwilling to do — as on so many other fronts — during the tenure of the current administration. Hawaii, California, Maryland, New York, Oregon, and Connecticut are all at various stages of considering or enacting limits or outright bans.
Beyond Pesticides has reported on chlorpyrifos repeatedly, including a November 2018 Daily News Blog in which it covered a review of research data that showed that the conclusions used, both in the U.S. and abroad, to support the registration (or allowance) of chlorpyrifos, were flawed and ignored pertinent data on health impacts. Most recently, the Daily News Blog reported on an EPA decision to continue permitting the use of chlorpyrifos on food. That decision was pursuant to a lawsuit brought by 12 plaintiff organizations advocating for cancellation of the registration of the compound for use in agriculture.
What lies ahead for the European Union is a decision to renew approval of chlorpyrifos use, or to ban the pesticide. The question will be taken up at a September meeting of a standing committee of representatives from EU member states and the EU commission. A proposed decision is expected to be announced in October, and final approval in December. Here in the U.S., advocates, healthcare professionals, scientists, and members of the public continue to demand that this toxic pesticide be removed from the market because of its terrible health impacts, especially on children.
The public can work to ban chlorpyrifos by contacting federal and state senators and representatives, as well as governors, to support legislation and regulation to prohibit use of this insecticide. Consumers can also oppose the use of the compound by purchasing organic whenever possible, thus supporting an agricultural system that does not rely on toxic chemicals. Learn more about chlorpyrifos impacts and developments by visiting the Beyond Pesticides Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database and its factsheet, Children and Pesticides Don’t Mix (a chronicle of peer-reviewed scientific literature on the health effects of pesticides).
All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.
Sources: https://euobserver.com/environment/145594 and https://euobserver.com/environment/145594
