The pesticide chlorpyrifos damages kids' brains. We've banned it in the U.S. -- and we should support a ban on it worldwide. Urge the Biden administration to withdraw their opposition to international efforts to ban chlorpyrifos. TAKE ACTION:
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John,
Chlorpyrifos is a pesticide that has long been linked to brain damage in children. It's so dangerous that PIRG campaigned for years to get it banned here in the U.S. -- and we won. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed that this chemical is too dangerous to use on our food here in America.[1]
So why won't the U.S. support a treaty that would ban this dangerous pesticide worldwide?
When nations gathered last year to discuss a global ban on chlorpyrifos, a senior EPA official stalled the proceedings by indicating that the U.S. would not support worldwide protections from chlorpyrifos.[2]
If chlorpyrifos is too dangerous for us to use here, it's too dangerous to use anywhere. Take action to urge the Biden administration to withdraw their opposition to international efforts to ban chlorpyrifos.
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Before it was banned here in America, chlorpyrifos was used on a huge variety of fruits and vegetables: citrus trees, apple orchards, strawberries, broccoli, cauliflower, and much more.[3] It's still in use today on produce outside the U.S.
It's dangerous because when it's sprayed on growing crops, pesticide residue can make it all the way to the grocery store. When the EPA investigated chlorpyrifos exposure in U.S. kids, the agency discovered that children can ingest up to 140 times the safety limit in their lifetimes.[4] There's little reason to believe the exposure risk would be lower in other parts of the world.
And kids who get exposed to chlorpyrifos are at risk of serious harm, including neurological damage and developmental problems.[5]
Chlorpyrifos hurts kids. We need to support a global ban on this pesticide to protect kids' health.
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If we raise our voices together, we know we can convince the EPA to do the right thing. We've done it before, when we helped win the national chlorpyrifos ban here in the U.S.
In 2021, a court ordered the EPA to reconsider chlorpyrifos' safety, and we used that chance to spring into action. PIRG mobilized to send tens of thousands of petition signatures to the EPA urging the agency to ban chlorpyrifos -- and we won.
We need to build that kind of momentum again -- this time to show our support for a global ban on a pesticide we already know is too dangerous to use at home.
Take action by adding your name today.
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Thank you,
Faye Park
President
1. Coral Davenport, "E.P.A. to Block Pesticide Tied to Neurological Harm in Children," The New York Times, August 18, 2021.
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2. Sharon Lerner, "The U.S. Banned Farmers From Using a Brain-Harming Pesticide on Food. Why Has It Slowed a Global Ban?," ProPublica, July 6, 2023.
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3. Dan Charles, "EPA Decides Not To Ban A Pesticide, Despite Its Own Evidence Of Risk," NPR, March 29, 2017.
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4. "Updated Human Health Risk Analyses for Chlorpyrifos," Environmental Protection Agency, November 10, 2016.
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5. Coral Davenport, "E.P.A. to Block Pesticide Tied to Neurological Harm in Children," The New York Times, August 18, 2021.
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