EPA may ban common pesticide used on fruits and vegetables

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By MATTHEW DALY

WASHINGTON (AP) — A common pesticide used on citrus fruits, almonds and other crops would be banned under a proposal announced Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The proposal would prohibit use of chlorpyrifos, a widely used insecticide that is sprayed on a variety of crops including oranges, apples, cherries, grapes, broccoli and asparagus.

The pesticide, in use since 1965, has sickened dozens of farmworkers in recent years. Traces have been found in waterways, threatening fish, and regulators say overuse could make targeted insects immune to the pesticide.

U.S. farms use more than 6 million pounds of the chemical each year — about 25 percent of it in California.

FULL story at link.


In this photo taken Oct. 5, 2014, apples are displayed at a farmers market in Arlington, Va. A common pesticide used on citrus fruits, almonds and other crops would be banned under a proposal announced Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The proposal would prohibit use of chlorpyrifos, a widely used insecticide that is sprayed on a variety of crops including oranges, apples, cherries, grapes, broccoli and asparagus. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f31b7a952dcf4e06b8c66a40438f9143/epa-may-ban-common-pesticide-used-fruits-and-vegetables

[Cassiopeia]

1. Probably a good thing.

I've sprayed it professionally. My boss would spray it without any PPE (personal protective equipment) and we got into a huge fight one day over him supplying PPE for me.

I took the argument to his boss and ordered $700 of safety equipment that evening.

This is one of those chemicals I refused to spray without a mask and tyvek gear.

ETA: This is a warning level pesticide.

Caution is lowest, then warning, then danger for most toxic

[womanofthehills]

2. Hope they do ban it

Article says "has sickened dozens of farm workers" but I bet it has sickened thousands of farm workers. Exposure to pesticides can cause so many different symptoms that people often don't connect their sickness to the pesticides.