Trump Administration Endangered Public Health By Keeping Pesticide On Market, Appeals Court Rules
The court has ordered the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos, which can damage children's neurodevelopment. A coalition of farmworkers and environmental groups sued last year after then-EPA chief Scott Pruitt reversed an Obama-era effort to ban the pesticide.
The Associated Press:
Court Orders Ban On Harmful Pesticide, Says EPA Violated Law
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration endangered public health by keeping a widely used pesticide on the market despite extensive scientific evidence that even tiny levels of exposure can harm babies' brains. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to remove chlorpyrifos from sale in the United States within 60 days. (8/9)
The Washington Post:
Federal Appeals Court Orders EPA To Ban Controversial Pesticide
Judge Jed Rakoff, writing for the majority, said that over the past two decades, scientists at the agency had documented the likely adverse effects of chlorpyrifos on the mental and physical development of infants and children. But he said the EPA had “stalled” for years in banning the chemical and accused the agency of an “utter failure” in responding to objections over Pruitt’s denial last year. (Dennis, 8/9)
In other news —
PBS NewsHour:
This EPA Rule May Expand Asbestos Use, And There’s One More Day To Give Feedback
On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to stop taking public comments for a proposed rule that critics say could expand the use of asbestos — an industrial material known to cause cancer and lung disease. (Akpan, 8/9)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
EPA Silent On Case Against Chemical Barrel Plants Months After Violations
Months after issuing violations against a chain of industrial barrel refurbishing plants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said nothing publicly about the case. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is asking why.Citing a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigation that documented danger in the plants to workers and residents in surrounding neighborhoods, Baldwin (D-Wis.) sent a letter to the EPA this week calling for action. (Dierich, 8/9)
