EPA is letting a brain-damaging pesticide poison us

The EPA is allowing Dow to poison bees, people, and our planet by allowing the use of a brain-damaging pesticide.

Chlorpyrifos is a toxic pesticide – the second most toxic to bees. Even tiny amounts can hinder the development of children’s brains. Farmworkers – some of our most essential workers – and their families are regularly exposed to this toxic chemical, putting them at increased risk of dizziness, vomiting, convulsion, attention disorders, lung cancer, and other neurological issues.

But there is good news: Congress is currently considering a bill that ban chlorpyrifos. This is a key step to protect people and pollinators.

Chlorpyrifos is extremely toxic. It has been linked to reduced IQ, loss of memory, and autism. Yet EPA scientists have found children are routinely exposed to unsafe levels through food and water alone.

Back in 2015, EPA scientists said that there are virtually no safe uses of chlorpyrifos — but it’s still widely used in agriculture. This puts farmers, farmworkers, and rural communities at heightened risk of being poisoned by chlorpyrifos. In fact, a single exposure led 50 farm workers on one farm to become sick from this toxic chemical. Workers on neighboring properties also ended up in the hospital over the following days.

Congress must step in to protect farmworkers and their local communities.

Chlorpyrifos not only harms people — it is also linked to bee decline. Last winter, beekeepers experienced  40% colony loss and we saw the highest summer bee losses ever.

Additionally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that chlorpyrifos threatens more than 1,200 endangered species – including the kit fox and seaside sparrow. 

Some of our elected officials are starting to wake up to the need to ban chlorpyrifos. Maryland, Hawai’i, California, and New York have banned this toxic nerve agent. They took the steps to put public health and the environment over the profits of Dow Chemical. Now, Congress should step up and protect EVERYONE from chlorpyrifos.