Group of Senators Push for Ban of the Toxic Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

A group of senators introduced a bill on July 25, 2017 in the hopes of banning Chlorpyrifos, a toxic pesticide implicated in the poisonings of farm workers. Introduced by Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, the bill challenges President Trump’s efforts to loosen environmental regulations. [1]

Chlorpyrifos Ban and Recent History

• In April 2017, the EPA said it would not ban chlorpyrifos, despite the agency’s own chemical safety experts, who had recommended under the Obama administration that the pesticide be permanently banned from agricultural use nationwide, due to the dangers it poses to farm workers and young children.

• In late 2016, the EPA concluded that chlorpyrifos exposure was causing potentially significant health issues, including learning and memory declines, especially among farm workers and young children.

• On July 18, 2017, a federal appeals court denied a petition by green groups to force the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos. [2]

Several manufacturers produce chlorpyrifos, including Dow Chemical. It is listed as a neurotoxin by the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

EPA: 97% of Endangered Species Threatened By 2 Pesticides, Including Chlorpyrifos

According to Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician who is dean for global health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, the toxicity of chlorpyrifos was proven “to damage the brains of children, especially those of fetuses in the womb” in 3 long-term, independently-funded studies “beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

Toxic residues of chlorpyrifos are regularly found on fruits and vegetables, including under the peels of oranges and other citrus fruits, as well as in the flesh of melons under the rind. Simply washing a piece of fruit before eating it is not enough to remove the pesticide. [2]

The EPA’s own scientists concluded that the amount of chlorpyrifos ingested by young children could exceed safety levels by 140 times.

The agency’s failure to ban chlorpyrifos could be construed as criminal, considering it is illegal under federal law to apply pesticides to food crops if the EPA can’t prove that they can be used safely.

Under the bill, the EPA would be required to conduct a broad review of the uses of chlorpyrifos to determine which groups are most vulnerable to the toxin. Should that review conclude that people are being exposed to harmful levels of the pesticide, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt would be forced to take “appropriate regulatory action” within 3 months by either suspending or revoking chlorpyrifos’ registration, or lowering the amount that can be legally applied. [1]

Udall stated:

“Congress must act because Administrator Pruitt has shown that he won’t.”

Senators Ben Cardin of Maryland, Kamala Harris of California, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Richard Durbin of Illinois and Ed Markey of Massachusetts are co-sponsoring the piece of legislation. [1]

Sources:

[1] Reuters

[2] National Resources Defense Council

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

UNICEF: 300 Million Kids are Breathing Toxic Air

New research from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shows that 300 million children – 1 in 7 globally – live in areas with “toxic” levels of air pollution. [1] [2]

 

The poorer a child is, the more likely he or she is to be surrounded by filthy air, and the greater the likelihood that he or she will suffer health problems as a result.

The report, which uses satellite imagery to determine the impacted areas, comes as international leaders prepare to gather in November in Morocco to continue the work of cutting carbon dioxide emissions and staving off the worst effects of global warming. [1]

No Escape

According to the report, the effected children live in places “where outdoor air pollution exceeds international guidelines by at least 6 times.” Altogether, it states, some 2 billion children are breathing air that has been deemed a “long-term hazard,” exceeding minimum standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a statement, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said:

“Air pollution is a major contributing factor in the deaths of around 600,000 children under five every year — and it threatens the lives and futures of millions more every day.

Pollutants don’t only harm children’s developing lungs — they can actually cross the blood-brain barrier and permanently damage their developing brains — and, thus, their futures. No society can afford to ignore air pollution.”

Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, UNICEF writes. Their lungs are still developing; their respiratory airways are more susceptible to blockages; and youngsters “breathe twice as fast, taking in more air per unit of body weight, compared to adults.”

Read: Toxic Nanoparticle Air Pollution Found in Human Brain Tissue

And while adult bodies also struggle to compensate from the damage caused by air pollution, kids’ immune systems are weaker. All of this, combined, puts children at risk for a lifetime of health problems. [2]

Study author Nicholas Rees says:

“That physiological difference essentially makes them even more vulnerable. It’s also that the poorest children are the most affected. If we look at the burden of mortality associated with air pollution, we find that the vast majority – about 90% of outdoor air pollution deaths – are in low- and middle-income countries.”

According to the authors of the research, “studies have shown that the lung capacity of children living in polluted environments can be reduced by 20% – similar to the effect of growing up in a home with secondhand cigarette smoke.” [1]

The report goes on to say:

“The combination of respiratory, cardiovascular, cognitive, morbidity and reproductive health effects of air pollution have biological as well as social and economic effects that last a lifetime. These include health conditions, school attendance, school performance, health costs and productivity, which affect income, poverty and inequalities.

Air pollution, through its massive and cumulative impact on the overall health and well-being of children and parents, can perpetuate intergenerational cycles of inequality.”

Kids’ health is negatively impacted by both outdoor air pollution (such as pollution from a factory) and indoor air pollution (such as smoke from solid fuels used in cooking). However, outdoor air pollution is worse in “lower-income, urban communities.” 

Air pollution also puts unborn children at risk. According to past studies, chronic exposure to high levels of particulate matter is linked to high rates of fetal loss (miscarriages), premature births, and lower birthrates. [3]

The report notes that it is difficult to separate the impact of the 2 because people are constantly moving between the 2 environments.

Additionally, the report states that current projections show that industrialization is making the problem even worse. Unless world leaders take action to cut outdoor air pollution, “studies show that outdoor air pollution will become the leading cause of environment-related child death by 2050.” [1]

UNICEF says:

“South Asia has the largest number of children living in these areas, at 620 million, with Africa following at 520 million children,” according to UNICEF. “The East Asia and Pacific region has 450 million children living in areas that exceed guideline limits.”

Air pollution has been linked to more than a half-million deaths each year in kids younger than 5, which is nearly double the death toll caused by malaria. For many children, the cost of breathing toxic air is a lifetime of battling pneumonia, asthma, and bronchitis. [2]

Championing Change

13858346 – playing little boy on the river coast near industrial plant

But it’s not a hopeless cause, if countries commit to changes and follow through on them. UNICEF is calling on world leaders to do the following:

• Reduce pollution by decreasing fossil fuel combustion and investing in energy efficiency.

• Increase access to children’s healthcare.

• Minimize kids’ exposure to air pollution by keeping schools away from factories and other known polluters and using cleaner cookstoves in homes.

• Improve monitoring of air pollution. [3]

Sources:

[1] NPR

[2] The Washington Post

[3] CNN

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.