Breaking: Federal Court rules that EPA broke the law on chlorpyrifos

San Francisco, CA – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must either disallow the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food or find safe levels of exposure that will protect children.

Jason Davidson, Senior Food and Agriculture Campaigner with Friends of the Earth, issued the following statement in response:

Despite clearly demonstrated harms to children’s brain development, the EPA has kept chlorpyrifos on the market. Today, the Ninth Circuit Court took the EPA to task for its negligence. It is imperative for the EPA not to request a re-hearing and to ban all uses chlorpyrifos immediately.

I am hopeful this is the final chapter in the decades-long saga to protect children, farm workers and endangered species from this toxic pesticide. The leadership of Hawai’i, California, New York and Maryland in taking steps to ban chlorpyrifos has been crucial while we await justice to be served across the nation.

The ruling can be found here.

Contact: Kaela Bamberger, [email protected], 202-222-0703