California Children Breathe Banned Insecticide With Each Breath

Independent scientific monitoring by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has found dangerously high concentrations of chlorpyrifos, a partially banned pesticide, in the air San Joaquin Valley, California residents breathe. One-third of ambient air monitoring samples detected the pesticide which the federal government recently banned for home use. Although the US EPA deems chlorpyrifos unsafe for children remains the most widely used agricultural insecticide in California. During the ummer of 2000 an agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the manufacturers of chlorpyrifos required pest exterminator companies to phase out all use of the popular chemical in areas where children could be exposed, including schools, daycare centers, parks, stores, and malls, by the end of the year. The organophosphate chlorpyrifos is the active ingredient in about 1,000 common insecticides and is marketed under the names of Lorsban and Dursban as a household killer of termites, cockroaches, ants, and fleas. It is estimated that chlorpyrifos is applied an estimated 20 million times a year in homes, schools, and offices. Under the agreement agricultural uses of the chemical would be curtailed. The use of chlorpyrifos on tomatoes will be eliminated and use on grapes and apples cut back. Use on field crops such as corn and wheat will not be restricted. Professional applicators may still use Dursban on golf courses, in ship holds and office buildings. Yet, the Environmental Working Group air testing found chlorpyrifos and other toxic pesticides used within 1.5 Miles of California schools. "Now that we have completed the most extensive scientific evaluation ever conducted on the potential health hazards from a pesticide, it is clear the time has come to take action to protect our children from exposure to this chemical," then EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner said regarding the new restrictions on chlorpyfifos. On June 7, 2000, Consumers Union released a study showing that some foods, such as winter squash, peaches, apples, and grapes, contain unacceptable residues of chlorpyrifos. At the time Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, said that because chlorpyrifos is found in so many foods, all agricultural uses must be banned. Exposure to chlorpyrifos is reported to cause blurred vision, muscle weakness, headaches and memory loss, according to the EPA. Recent studies indicate that the chemical harms the neurological system of children. Nevertheless, in several of the EWG testing locations, chlorpyrifos was detected at levels that could easily expose infants to much higher doses than the federal government says are safe to breathe.

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