{"id":15468,"date":"2015-04-22T00:01:30","date_gmt":"2015-04-22T04:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=15468"},"modified":"2015-04-22T09:05:37","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T13:05:37","slug":"epas-expansion-of-24-d-enlist-duo-challenged","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2015\/04\/epas-expansion-of-24-d-enlist-duo-challenged\/","title":{"rendered":"EPA\u2019s Expansion of 2,4-D Enlist Duo Challenged"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, April 22, 2015) A coalition of conservation, food safety, and public health groups filed a motion<\/a> Monday challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)\u2019s decision to expand the use of \u201cEnlist Duo\u201d on genetically engineered (GE) corn and soybean crops to nine additional states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and North Dakota. Enlist Duo, which contains the toxic herbicide, 2,4-D, was approved by EPA to be used on 2,4-D-resistant crops, despite concerns for human and environmental contamination.<\/p>\n

\"epa_seal_profiles\"<\/a>The motion was filed in the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by Earthjustice and Center for Food Safety on behalf of Beyond Pesticides, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, Environmental Working Group, the National Family Farm Coalition, and Pesticide Action Network North America. This motion builds on the coalition\u2019s earlier challenge of Enlist Duo<\/a>, which already includes six Midwestern states where EPA previously first approved the herbicide\u2019s use on GE corn and soybean crops. Another legal challenge <\/a>cites EPA\u2019s \u00a0failure to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regarding the impact of the herbicide on two endangered species \u2014the whooping crane and the Indiana bat\u2014 with the approval of Enlist Duo for use on GE crops.<\/p>\n

The groups are challenging EPA\u2019s decision to allow the use of Enlist Duo in 15 Midwestern states because of the serious impacts the powerful new herbicide cocktail will have on farmworkers, neighboring farms, and ground and surface water, as well as endangered species. For instance, 2,4-D, <\/a>half the mixture \u00a0of the infamous Agent Orange, has been linked to serious illnesses, including Parkinson\u2019s disease, non-Hodgkin\u2019s lymphoma, and reproductive problems. The EPA\u2019s analyses also demonstrate plainly that the herbicide may affect endangered species, like the whooping crane, Louisiana black bear, and Indiana bat, through consumption of prey contaminated with the toxic chemical.<\/p>\n

Enlist Duo, a new herbicide that incorporates a cocktail of \u00a0glyphosate<\/a> \u00a0and a new formulation of \u00a02,4-D<\/a>, was registered by EPA last fall<\/a> and is intended for use on GE corn and soybean crops- deregulated last year<\/a> by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Enlist Duo is being marketed as a \u201csolution\u201d for the control of glyphosate-resistant weeds brought on by the widespread use of glyphosate on glyphosate-resistant (Roundup Ready) crops over the last decade. Glyphosate-resistant super weeds now infest tens of millions of acres of U.S. farmland. EPA and Dow AgroScience are now allowing farmers to douse their fields with both 2,4-D and glyphosate to kill these resistant weeds. However, independent and USDA scientists, however, predict that the Enlist Duo \u201ccrop system\u201d will only foster resistance to 2,4-D in addition to glyphosate, continuing the GE crop pesticide treadmill. USDA\u2019s own analysis finds that approval of 2,4-D-resistant corn and soybeans will lead to an unprecedented 2- to 7-fold increase in agricultural use of the herbicide by 2020, from 26 million to as much as 176 million pounds per year.<\/p>\n

“Big chemical is profiting over dumping more and more toxins in our air, water and bodies and killing our endangered wildlife,\u201d said Earthjustice attorney Paul Achitoff. \u00a0\u201cInstead of being an environmental watchdog, the EPA is playing lapdog and allowing this deadly herbicide to be sprayed on millions of acres without adequate impact assessment. We filed our motion so we can finally stop the cycle of more and more pesticides with less and less oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n

States that are now approved to use Enlist Duo on GE corn and soybean crops:<\/p>\n