The Environmental Protection Agency has long been tasked with protecting the environment, a mission which seems to have fallen by the wayside with its new head, Trump appointee Scott Pruitt, who is actively reversing measures undertaken by the Obama administration to ban chlorpyrifos, a widely-used pesticide which has been scientifically linked to the prevalence of autism, ADD, brain damage and other developmental delays, especially in children. Now, environmentalists are fighting back by suing the EPA.
Children, primarily, are at a risk of developing autism from the toxic pesticide.
Chlorpyrifos is widely used in greenhouses, on golf courses, crops, turf, etc. and is highly likely to leave residue on vegetables and fruits planted in areas which have been treated with the pesticide. Subsequent consumption of these foods can cause a variety of neurological disorders and are even dangerous for pregnant women to handle, increasing their risk of birth defects, miscarriage and other complications. This wide breadth of evidence notwithstanding, Pruitt insists his own peoples’ ‘research’ hasn’t found any significant impacts associated with use of the pesticide but will re-evaluate its safety in 2022. If, however, the environmentalists find success with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the EPA may be forced to act sooner.
The Natural Resources Defense Council remarked that the EPA hasn’t offered any concrete evidence supporting its assertion that chlorpyrifos is safe to use and issued the following statement: “[The council] stands with medical professionals, scientific experts, farmworkers, and agricultural communities across the country to seek court action in the face of a Trump administration unwilling to put children’s health over corporate profits,”
Natural Resources Defense Council Senior Attorney, Erik Olson was further quoted as saying, “The science is clear that this chemical is dangerous, yet Administrator Pruitt is ignoring findings from EPA’s own experts and brushing off the courts to keep it on the market.”
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