For the first time in nearly four decades, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday issued a emergency order stop the use of a pesticide associated with serious health risks fetuses.
The pesticide, dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA or Dacthal), is currently under review as part of a process in which registered pesticides are re-evaluated every 15 years to ensure they do not have any adverse effects on human health or the environment.
The emergency order comes after several years of “unprecedented efforts” by the Biden-Harris administration to get DCPA’s sole manufacturer, AMVAC Chemical Corporation, to submit data on the pesticide and its health risks, the EPA said. in a statement. Press release.
Here’s everything you need to know.
How is the pesticide used?
DCPA is used to control weeds in crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions. Part of the pesticide’s risk is that pregnant people can be exposed to it without knowing it, according to the EPA.
How is this harmful?
The EPA said that when pregnant women are exposed to DCPA, their fetuses may experience changes in thyroid hormone levels. These changes are associated with low birth weight, poor brain development, decreased IQ and impaired motor skills later in life – some of which may be irreversible.
“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be taken off the market immediately,” said Michal Freedhoff, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, in the agency’s press release. “It is the EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may not even know they were exposed could give birth to babies who will suffer lifelong, irreversible health problems.”
The EPA found that even when people use personal protective equipment, there are still health risks associated with ACD. The EPA has estimated that pregnant people handling DCPA products may be subject to exposures four to 20 times greater than what the agency has estimated to be safe for fetuses.
The DCPA was banned for use on crops in the European Union since 2009.
What happened before this order was issued?
The EPA said that in 2013 it requested data from AMVAC about the pesticide and its health risks, including for a comprehensive study of the pesticide’s effects on thyroid development in adults and children before and after birth. Although AMVAC submitted data to the EPA between 2013 and 2021, the agency said much of it was “deemed insufficient,” and some of the agency’s requests — including the thyroid study — were not even submitted. AMVAC finally presented the thyroid study in 2022.
What happens next?
The emergency order takes effect immediately because the EPA has determined that continuing to sell and use DCPA in the time it would take to go through the normal pesticide suspension process “poses an imminent danger to fetuses,” according to the press release. The agency said it will also issue a notice of intent to recall DCPA products within the next three months.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
