Media outlets including The New York Times are reporting Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency will not ban a widely used pesticide “associated with developmental disabilities and other health problems in children.”
The Times reports, “The decision not to prohibit the use of the pesticide, chlorpyrifos, comes after years of legal wrangling. It represents a victory for the chemical industry and farmers who have lobbied to continue using the substance, arguing it is necessary to protect crops.”
Hawaii is reported to have been the first state to ban chlorpyrifos, which is sprayed on fruits and other crops.

Gov. David Ige signed the bill in June 2018 and it became law the following January.
“The state may issue exemptions for three years to allow agriculture businesses time to adjust,” according to a report from The Associated Press at the time.
Food safety groups are upset by the EPA’s decision.
“With this unconscionable decision, the Trump administration has betrayed America’s children, using all the means at its disposal to ensure that kids will continue to suffer from entirely avoidable learning disabilities caused by this neurotoxic chemical,” said Bill Freese, science policy analyst at Center for Food Safety, in a press release Thursday.
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About the Author
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Chad Blair is the politics editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at cblair@civilbeat.org or follow him on X at @chadblairCB.