1 EARTHJUSTICE.ORG 2. 1. Mapping dangerous pesticides inthefoods we eat POISONEDBRAINS POISONED FOOD, WEEAT INTHEFOODS DANGEROUS POISONEDBRAINS:MAPPING PESTICIDES POISONED FOOD, the onlysensibleandlawful actionwouldbetoban EPA mustunveilitsruleby August20,2021.While find safeforworkersandchildren. food usesofchlorpyrifosorretainonlythoseitcan Circuit CourtofAppealsorderedEPAtobanall litigation ledbyEarthjusticeanditsclients,the9th not mostfooduses.InApril2021,afteryearsof of chlorpyrifos,toendmostresidentialusesbut Dow AgroSciences,thenthelargestmanufacturer in 2006.Intheearly2000s,EPAagreedwith (EPA) reauthorizedforuseinagriculturalfields phates thattheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency Chlorpyrifos isoneofdozensorganophos- (part ofLovelandProducts,Inc.). Chemicals, Ltd.,andPlatteChemicalCompany,Inc. Cheminova (ownedbyFMCCorporation),Gharda Agriscience) ical conglomerateslikeDowChemical(nowCorteva are manufacturedandsoldeveryyearbyagrochem- a centurylater,millionsofpoundschlorpyrifos agents foragriculturaluse.Andnow,morethanhalf chemical companiesrepurposedthisclassofnerve of chemicalwarfare.AfterWorldWarII,German the Nazisweaponizedorganophosphatesasaform like chlorpyrifosarenotaccidental.Inthe1940s, The direhealthconsequencesoforganophosphates also usedoncorn,thecountry’slargestcrop. crops, tablegrapes,strawberries,andcherries.Itis Chlorpyrifos issprayedonapples,allmajorcitrus working memory,andattentiondeficitdisorders. brains ofchildren,includingreducedIQ,loss chlorpyrifos topermanentharmsthedeveloping cides onthemarket.Multiplestudieshavelinked one ofmanydangerousorganophosphatepesti- in theU.S.havebeensprayedwithchlorpyrifos, Since themid-1960s,staplefruitsandvegetables BACKGROUND http://npirspublic.ceris.purdue.edu/ppis/product.aspx promoted onCorteva’swebsite . Corteva, thelargestmanufacturer ofchlorpyrifos,saiditwouldstopmanufacturing in 2021. 1 , ADAMAAgriculturalSolutionsLtd., Lorsban, theproductnameof chlorpyrifos,isstill chlorpyrifos inparticular,havebeencollated. mapping dataonorganophosphatesasawhole,and This isthefirsttimethatriskfindingsandUSGS risks evaluations,andabriefregulatoryhistory. tain highlevelsoforganophosphates,linkstohealth shows whichcropsaresprayed,thefoodsthatcon- earthjustice.org/organophosphates. Thedatabase download andexploreinasearchabledatabaseat tion on16otherorganophosphates,isavailableto rized, andanalyzed,whichalsoincludesinforma- (USGS). ThedataEarthjusticecompiled,catego- data fromtheUnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey assessments, aswellagriculturalpesticideusage and extracteddatafromEPAhumanhealthrisk To keeptherecordstraight,Earthjusticereviewed August deadlinelooms. lobbying maneuversaremostlikelyongoingasthe — includingchlorpyrifosonthemarket.These on flawedscienceandkeepingharmfulpesticides armed, tricked,orpersuadedEPAintorelying years, chemicalcompanieslikeDowhavestrong- Recent reportingfromTheInterceptshowsthatfor chlorpyrifos fromfood,itisunclearEPAwilldoso. Company, GhardaChemicals International. Crop ProtectionLLC,Central GardenandPest Inc., TideInternational,USA,Inc,Liberty Inc., MakhteshimAganofNorthAmerica, Drexel ChemicalCompany,ControlSolutions, Insecticides, Inc.,AdamaMakhteshimLTD, BASF Corporation,SouthernAgricultural Nufarm Americas,Inc.,FMCCorporation, in theUS: Manufacturers withchlorpyrifos registrations [email protected] National Media Strategist Alejandro Dávila Fragoso, PRESS CONTACT:
2 2 EARTHJUSTICE.ORG Chlorpyrifos Hot Spots Across theUnitedStates REPORT FINDINGS • • • • KEY TAKEAWAYS WEEAT INTHEFOODS DANGEROUS POISONEDBRAINS:MAPPING PESTICIDES POISONED FOOD, and U.S. territories, includingHawai’i, Alaska, andPuerto Rico were not madeavailable by the USGS andare not reflected onthismap. in 2017, anddoes not reflect other uses like golfcourses, orplant nurseries. Chlorpyrifos usedata pertaining to non-contiguous states account for chlorpyrifos usethat may happenbutmay not bereported andcannot be verified. The mapreflects onlyagricultural crop usage low modelmore accurately reflects state useasitassumes nochlorpyrifos on crops for which data isnot reported inaCDR. Highestimates USGS low estimates for chlorpyrifos useinpoundsacross USharvested croplands, orCrop Reporting Districts (“CDR”). The USGS E-pest ies, whichnotethatfoodisamethodofexposure or drinkingwater,accordingtogovernmentstud- can beexposedtounsafelevelsthroughair(drift) Anyone livingnearwherechlorpyrifosisused according tothemostrecentgovernmentdata. have residuelevelsthatexceedallowablelimits, beets, corn,andcitrus.Cilantro,basil,raisins highest allowablelevelsofchlorpyrifosaresugar shoot products.Thecommoditiesthathavethe including fruits,vegetables,meats,andtheiroff- Chlorpyrifos isallowedon48foodcommodities, and fiveareinNorthDakota. counties thatusedthemost,fourareinCalifornia Kansas usedthemostchlorpyrifos.Oftop10 California, Minnesota,NorthDakota,and chlorpyrifos onagriculturallandin2017. United Statesusedover5.6millionpoundsof The mostrecentgovernmentdatasaysthe • • higher thanlevelsofconcern. areas, chlorpyrifoscontaminationmaybe12,000 estimates indicatethatinthemostcontaminated unsafe levelsofchlorpyrifos.EPA’shighend across thenationislikelycontaminatedwith be safeforchildren,EPAsaiddrinkingwater to findachlorpyrifosexposurelevelthatwould which istheonlysuchassessmentthatattempted In its2016RefinedDrinkingWaterAssessment, EPA’s so-calledlevelofconcern. face dietaryexposuresofmorethan140times most atriskofharmfromchlorpyrifos,asthey Children betweenoneandtwoyearsoldare and areatelevatedriskofharm. experience dangerouslyhighlevelsofexposure agricultural fieldswherechlorpyrifosisused and peoplewholive,work,orgotoschoolnear too. Governmentreportsshowthatfarmworkers [email protected] National Media Strategist Alejandro Dávila Fragoso, PRESS CONTACT: organophosphate Pounds of 100,000 1 -1,000
3 EARTHJUSTICE.ORG 4. 3. WEEAT INTHEFOODS DANGEROUS POISONEDBRAINS:MAPPING PESTICIDES POISONED FOOD, residues frombeingsoldorconsumedinthestate. adopted banscannotpreventfoodswithchlorpyrifos state willbechlorpyrifosfree.Infact,statesthathave pesticide byDecember2020,thisdoesnotmeanthe phase outmost,butnotall,agriculturalusesofthe approved achlorpyrifosbanin2019,whichwould Washington stateusedthemost.AndwhileCalifornia Minnesota, NorthDakota,Kansas,Florida,and year. Accordingtothesame2017data,California, 5.6 millionpoundsofchlorpyrifosonfieldsinone ward trendofuse,butnonethelesstheU.S.sprayed recent availablegovernmentdatashowsadown cultural stateandalloverthecountry.Themost Chlorpyrifos isusedinnearlyeverymajoragri Valley. InNorthDakota,thecountieswith all bordereachotherandareintheSanJoaquin ties areKern,Fresno,Tulare,andKings,which are inNorthDakota.InCalifornia,thosecoun- rifos byvolume,fourareinCaliforniaandfive Of thetop10countiesthatusemostchlorpy- Only EPAcandothatwithafederalban. volume andconcentration Figure 1:Ranking of states (top 10) basedonaggregate pesticide California (Jan. 2018), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5863617/. McHale etal., AssessingHealthRisksfrom MultipleEnvironmentalStressors: MovingfromG×E toI×E,775MutationalResearch 11–20 Assessment, 15 Intl.J.Envtl.Research& Pub. Health2797(2018), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6313653/; ClionaM. et al.,MethodsforEvaluating theCombinedEffectsofChemicalandNonchemical Exposures forCumulativeEnvironmentalHealthRisk 30 HealthAffairs879–887 (May2011),https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0153 Rachel Morello-Froschetal., UnderstandingtheCumulativeImpactsofInequalities inEnvironmentalHealth:ImplicationsforPolicy, New York,OregonandHawai’i alsobannedchlorpyrifos. 2,500 Volume (thousands) Georgia 2,000 North Dakota Louisiana Mississippi Minnesota Arkansas Oklahoma 1,500 Texas Florida 1,000 500 Massachusetts ot arl na roli Ca South Mississippi California Louisiana ran as ns Arka Alabama Georgia rzona Ariz Florida 0 10 Florida Oklahoma Dakota North sota Minne as ns Arka Mississippi Texas Louisiana Georgia California 8 5 6 4 9 3 2 7 1 0 50
Massachusetts Concentration Arkansas 0 5 0 250 200 150 100 Alabama SouthCarolina Mississippi California Louisiana Florida Arizona Georgia - 300 - 3
; DevonC.Payne-Sturges Kings, CA when assessingrisks. data. EPAdoesnottakethesefactorsintoaccount Washington state,accordingto2010USCensus heavy chlorpyrifosusecomparedtotherestof twice aslikelytoliveinthesetwocountieswith posure. more vulnerabletoharmfromchlorpyrifosex- percentages ofpovertythanthenationalaverage, counties inWashingtonstate,whichhavehigher communities likethoseinYakimaandGrant factors likepovertyandracialinjusticecanmake Studies haveshownthatpsychosocialstressfrom usage intheUnitedStatesfrom2017. two statesaccountforalmost27%oftheannual spot. Thecombineduseofchlorpyrifosacrossthese use byvolume,creatingasizeableagriculturalhot fall inthetop20countieswithhighestchlorpyrifos with MarshallandPolkcountiesinMinnesota,all ties ofTownerandNelsoninNorthDakota,along Cavalier, Walsh,andRamsey.Theadjacentcoun- highest chlorpyrifosuseareGrandForks,Pembina, pesticide volume andconcentration Figure 2:Ranking of counties (top 10) basedonaggregate Fresno, CA Volume (thousands) Mississippi, AR Monterey, CA Imperial, CA Jackson, OK Craighead, AR Tillman, OK Kern, CA Tulare, CA 4 HispanicorLatinxcommunitiesarealso etFlcaa Louisiana Feliciana, West Chattahoochee, Georgia 200300400500 rele Arizona Greenlee, se,NwJersey New Essex, evr Colorado Denver, pce ArizonaApache, 100 utn Georgia Fulton, iet,Florida Liberty, ia Arizona Gila, uf Florida Gulf, [email protected]@earthjustice.org NationalNational Media Strategist Media Strategist AlejandroAlejandro Dávila Dávila Fragoso, Fragoso, PRESSPRESS CONTACT: CONTACT: 0 10 riha,Akansas Ark Craighead, Arkansas Mississippi, Oklahoma Tillman, homa Okla on, Jacks California Tulare, California Monterey, California Imperial, California Kern, California Fresno, California Kings, 8 5 6 9 4 3 2 7 1 0 Liberty, FL Fulton, GA West Feliciana, LA Chattahoochee, GA Apache, AZ Gulf, FL Essex, NJ Greenlee, AZ 00 00 00 80000 60000 40000 20000 Gila,AZ Concentration
000120000 100000 Denver, CO 4 EARTHJUSTICE.ORG 5. WEEAT INTHEFOODS DANGEROUS POISONEDBRAINS:MAPPING PESTICIDES POISONED FOOD, Chlorpyrifos wasfrequently detectedonasparagus, different foodsattimesabove allowablelevels. that chlorpyrifosresidueswere detectedon37 The mostrecentPDPdatafrom2015–2019shows and eventoothpaste. the lattercanendupinavarietyofprocessedfoods and oilslikecitrusoil,peppermint,spearmint, lowable levelsofchlorpyrifosaresugarbeets,corn, corn. Thecommoditiesthathavethehighestal- other citrus,strawberries,soybeans,cucumbersand families eatoften,includingapples,orangesand Chlorpyrifos isallowedonfoodsthatchildrenand allowable levelscouldharmchildren’sbrains. dren. ThismeansthatevenresiduesbelowEPA’s not onrisksofneurodevelopmentalharminchil- allowable levelsarebasedonacutepoisoningrisks, eggs, andvegetableoil,tonameafew.Butthe meats, andvariousoffshootproductslikemilk, commodities, includingfruits,vegetables,grains, EPA allowsresiduesofchlorpyrifoson48food ucts soldintheU.S. chlorpyrifos iswidespreadonfoodprod- tained bytheUSDAPesticideDataProgram(PDP), According tofoodresiduemonitoringdataob- Reports donotspecifylocations. tion maybe12,000higherthanlevelsofconcern. most contaminatedareas,chlorpyrifoscontamina- ifos. EPA’Shighendestimatesindicatethatinthe likely contaminatedwithunsafelevelsofchlorpyr- EPA foundthatdrinkingwateracrossthenationis In its2016RefinedDrinkingWaterAssessment, exposure isongoing. from universitiesacrossthecountryagreethat reaches schoolsandhomes.Independentscientists ticide throughwater,food,andthetoxicdriftthat show thatcommunitiescanbeexposedtothispes- immediate riskofexposure,governmentreports ers whodirectlyhandlechlorpyrifosareatmost breathe tothefoodweeat.Althoughfarmwork- is pervasiveinourenvironment,fromtheairwe Federal agencyassessmentsshowthatchlorpyrifos Chlorpyrifos in Water andFood Oregon. Therearesomestrawberry-producing states,however,likeNorthCarolina, that canusechlorpyrifosonthiscrop. Although inthecaseofstrawberries, mostofthenation’scropwillnotbesprayedwith chlorpyrifosthankstostatebansinCaliforniaand
peppers, frozenstrawberries effect mustbeconsidered. harm inchildren.Underthelaw,theircombined chlorpyrifos arealsolinkedtoneurodevelopmental that 16commonlyusedorganophosphatesbesides Earthjustice reviewedgovernmentstudiesshowing found infoodanddrinkingwateratunsafelevels. across U.S.fields.Mostofthesepesticidesarealso of 13otherorganophosphatepesticideswereused type ofharm.In2017,over10.5millionpounds which allactinthesamewayandcause terms ofexposurestoorganophosphatepesticides, And chlorpyrifosisjustthetipoficebergin to theirbodysizethanadults. children eat,drinkandbreathemoreinproportion neurodevelopmental harm.Thishappensbecause the agencyusedtotryprotectchildrenfrom higher thanEPA’slevelofconcern,thethreshold highest risk,dietaryexposuresareover140times in childrenaged1-2years,thesubgroupwith at unsafelevelsacrossthegeneralpopulation.But that exposuretochlorpyrifosthroughfoodoccurs neurodevelopmental harminchildren,EPAfound to examineriskatexposurelevelsassociatedwith chlorpyrifos, theonlyversiontodatethatattempted In its2016HumanHealthRiskAssessmentfor levels thatexceededallowablelevels. Peaches, cilantro,basil,andraisinshadresidue that EPAcontinuestoallowitbeusedon. feed ourfamilies every day. Dave Getzschman /Earthjustice like oranges, strawberries, apple, and greens, we eat and the UnitedStates. Chlorpyrifos isusedonfruits and vegetables, In 2017, 5.6 millionpoundsof chlorpyrifos was sprayed oncrop in [email protected] National Media Strategist Alejandro Dávila Fragoso, PRESS CONTACT: 5 andpeaches,foods
5 EARTHJUSTICE.ORG cording tostudiesthattrackedmothers andchildren dren’s brainsoccuratevenlow levelsofexposure with decadesofscientificresearch.Harmstochil- structural changesinthebrain.Thesefindingsalign developmental delays,attentiondeficitdisorders,and brains, causinglowerIQs,lossofworkingmemory, is linkedtolong-termharmchildren’sdeveloping found thatchlorpyrifosexposureduringpregnancy seizures, andevendeath.Beginningin2014,EPA toms likeheadaches,dizziness,difficultybreathing, workers —canexperiencesevereneurologicalsymp at highdosesoverashortperiodoftime—generally neurotoxic, meaningthatpeoplewhoareexposed Chlorpyrifos, likeallorganophosphates,isacutely Risks andHealth Effects of Chlorpyrifos WEEAT INTHEFOODS DANGEROUS POISONEDBRAINS:MAPPING PESTICIDES POISONED FOOD, Figure 4: Table of Health Effects Sideby SidewithCrops, by pesticide Dichlorvos Phorate Coumaphos Chlorethoxyfos Chlorpyrifos-methyl Tribufos Terbufos Phosmet Malathion Ethoprop Dimethoate Dicrotophos Bensulide Acephate Diazinon Chlorpyrifos Naled
Neurodevelopmental Harm
Reproductive Toxicity
Cancer
Immunotoxicity Human Health Effects
, ac- Endocrine Disruption (Tier 2) - .
Alfalfa near theirhomes,accordingtoEPA. touching, oringestingpesticideresiduesinside levels ofexposuretochlorpyrifosbybreathingin, spray application.Bystanderscanexperiencehigh homes, schools,andotherestablishmentsfollowing fos, whichdriftsfromagriculturalfieldstonearby sures occurprimarilyfromaerosolizedchlorpyri- levels ofexposurestothispesticide.Theseexpo- “residential bystanders,”canexperiencedangerous fields wherechlorpyrifosisused,referredtoas EPA reportsalsoshowthatpeoplewholivenear
Corn
Cotton
Fruit and Vegetables
[email protected] National Media Strategist Alejandro Dávila Fragoso, PRESS CONTACT: Orchards and Grapes
Other Crops Crops Soybeans
Wheat
6 EARTHJUSTICE.ORG CA (pictured above), schoolsare frequently situated near fieldswhere chlorpyrifos issprayed. Communities of colorbear adisproportionate burden of pesticide exposure intheUnitedStates. Inagricultural communities, like Salinas, POISONED FOOD, POISONED BRAINS: MAPPING DANGEROUS PESTICIDES IN THE FOODS WEEAT INTHEFOODS DANGEROUS POISONEDBRAINS:MAPPING PESTICIDES POISONED FOOD, This proposalisstillbeforeEPA. levels atwhichharmtochildren’sbrainsoccurs. rifos useon11cropsatlevelsthatfarex-ceedthe istration thenproposedtoallowcontinuedchlorpy findings ofitsflawedassessment,theTrumpadmin law andthebestavailablescience.Basedon previous riskassessmentapproachesthatdefiedthe from neurodevelopmentalharmandrevertedto fos thatabandonedanyattempttoprotectchildren revised humanhealthriskassessmentforchlorpyri In 2020,theTrumpadministrationreleaseda has refusedtobanthepesticide. impair criticalbraindevelopment,tothisdayEPA scientific consensusontheabilityofchlorpyrifosto documented fordecades.Despitetheresounding irreparable harmtochildren’sbrainsthathasbeen States tothedangersofthispesticide,including This exposesmillionsofpeoplelivingintheUnited toxic, continuestobeusedonfruitsandvegetables. from homeusetwodecadesagobecauseitwastoo Chlorpyrifos, anorganophosphatethatwasbanned CONCLUSION - - - food. Indeed,followingthescienceleadsinevitably telling theagencythispesticideistootoxicforour toxic forourhomes20yearsago,sotooscienceis Just asscienceledEPAtosaychlorpyrifosistoo that defiessoundscientificevidenceandthelaw. era proposaltocontinuechlorpyrifosuseonfood chemical industrypressureandfinalizeaTrump- dangerous pesticide.OrEPAcouldsuccumbto farmworkers, andruralcommunitiesfromthis uses ofthispesticidetofinallyprotectchildren, chlorpyrifos onourfood.EPAcouldbanallfood 20, 2021,tofinalizeregulationsbanningorlimiting is safeforchildren.TheagencyhasuntilAugust ifos unlesstheagencycanprovethatpesticide ordered theEPAtobanallfoodusesofchlorpyr In April2021,the9thCircuitCourtofAppeals look atthewholeclassoforganophosphates. is tobanit,onceandforall,starttakingahard keep childrenandworkerssafefromchlorpyrifos to theconclusionthatonlyacceptableway MartinDoNascimento /Earthjustice [email protected] National Media Strategist Alejandro Dávila Fragoso, PRESS CONTACT:
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