{"id":40765,"date":"2026-01-20T00:01:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T05:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=40765"},"modified":"2026-02-24T12:28:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T17:28:55","slug":"protection-from-elevated-toxic-chemical-risk-before-high-court-converges-with-adverse-effects-of-deregulation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2026\/01\/protection-from-elevated-toxic-chemical-risk-before-high-court-converges-with-adverse-effects-of-deregulation\/","title":{"rendered":"Protection from Elevated Chemical Hazards Before High Court, Converges with Adverse Effects of Deregulation"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, January 20, 2026)\u00a0With Monday\u2019s celebration and affirmation of Martin Luther King\u00a0Jr.’s life and legacy, the question of adequate protection of the people and communities at greatest risk from toxic chemical production, transportation, use, and disposal looms large. This is especially true with the current diminished federal regulatory authority and Bayer\/Monsanto\u2019s U.S. Supreme Court challenge<\/a> of chemical manufacturers\u2019 responsibility to warn users of their products of hazards like cancer.<\/p>\r\n

Actions Being Taken<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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  1. In response to the chemical industry campaign to deny people the right to sue under longstanding failure to warn law, groups are calling for public support of U.S Senator Cory Booker\u2019s (D-NJ) bill, Pesticide Injury Accountability Act<\/em><\/a>(S. 2324)\u00a0seeks to uphold this right\u00a0 to sue. The groups are calling on the public to \u201cTell your U.S. Senator to co-sponsor S. 2324, the\u00a0Pesticide Injury Accountability Act<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.\u201d This bill will amend the\u00a0Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act of 1972<\/em>\u00a0(FIFRA) to create a federal right of action for anyone who is harmed by a toxic pesticide.\u00a0<\/li>\r\n\t
  2. In an additional action in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Beyond Pesticides is calling on the public to \u201cTell members of Congress to ensure that with the termination of environmental justice programs at EPA,\u00a0they must uphold the right of those at the highest risk\u00a0of\u00a0harm\u00a0to sue manufacturers responsible\u00a0for their failure to warn about\u00a0their\u00a0products’\u00a0hazards.<\/strong><\/a>\u201d<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    A 2025 study\u00a0published in\u00a0International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health<\/em>,\u00a0\u201cEnvironmental and Human Health Impacts of Agricultural Pesticides on BIPOC Communities in the United States: A Review from an Environmental Justice Perspective<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0in analyzing 128 peer-reviewed articles, books, and reports on pesticides, environmental justice, and\u00a0[Black,\u00a0Indigenous, and People of Color]\u00a0BIPOC communities in the U.S., finds \u201cuneven distribution of pesticide-related health and environmental burdens along racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic\u00a0lines.\u201d\u00a0This finding confirms a long history documenting disproportionate risk<\/a> of chemical hazards to people of color and their communities. (See also here<\/a>.)<\/p>\r\n

    Without a\u00a0rigorous regulatory system to\u00a0restrict toxic chemicals, including pesticides,\u00a0from poisoning people, the courts provide a critical\u00a0vehicle for constraining the behavior of corporations\u00a0responsible for harm. Since chemical manufacturers know this, and after over\u00a0$10 billion\u00a0in\u00a0jury verdicts and settlements\u00a0over the last several years\u00a0in cases involving\u00a0the\u00a0weed killer\u00a0glyphosate\/RoundupTM<\/sup>, they are\u00a0seeking to be shielded from litigation.\u00a0Aware of the termination of regulatory programs that are\u00a0intended to\u00a0protect\u00a0those at greatest risk of harm, the companies, led by\u00a0Bayer\/Monsanto<\/a>, say publicly that\u00a0their compliance with\u00a0EPA regulations\u00a0should protect them from\u00a0disclosing the hazards of their products and even\u00a0immunize them from\u00a0accountability for\u00a0the harm that they cause.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

    Martin Luther King, Jr.\u2019s work to pass the\u00a0landmark\u00a01964\u00a0Civil Rights Act<\/em><\/a>\u00a0advanced\u00a0the principle of racial equality,\u00a0which extends\u00a0to economic and environmental justice. However, when\u00a0the\u00a0Trump administration<\/a> announced the dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs\u00a0in January 2025,\u00a0ending government-wide efforts to\u00a0address \u201centrenched disparities in our laws and public policies<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0it did not take long for\u00a0the\u00a0U.S. Environmental Protection\u00a0Agency’s\u00a0(EPA) administrator\u00a0Lee Zeldin\u00a0to\u00a0\u201cterminate\u201d<\/a>\u00a0the agency’s environmental justice program.\u00a0This put the federal government on a path to reject\u00a0the principles\u00a0intended to address\u00a0elevated risk factors\u00a0associated with\u00a0chemical, and specifically pesticide,\u00a0induced illnesses\u00a0for people of color.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

    The science\u00a0establishes\u00a0the disproportionate risk associated with pesticide use under current law.\u00a0The authors of a\u00a02022 study,\u00a0\u201cPesticides and environmental injustice in the USA: root causes, current regulatory reinforcement and a path forward<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0assert that the disparities identified continue via current regulations and statutes that (1) inadequately protect workers, (2) operate with a pesticide safety \u201cdouble standard,\u201d and (3) permit the export of toxic pesticides to \u201cdeveloping\u201d countries,\u00a0including\u00a0specific findings\u00a0such as:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n