EPA Denies Activist Petition to Cancel Chlorpyrifos Uses

On March 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt signed an order denying a petition to ban the uses of chlorpyrifos, which is a valuable pesticide for agriculture use. Administrator Pruitt stated "By reversing the previous Administration’s steps to ban one of the most widely used pesticides in the world, we are returning to using sound science in decision-making – rather than predetermined results."

In November 2015, under a court order of the U.S. 9th Circuit, the Obama administration proposed to revoke all food residue tolerances for chlorpyrifos.  The previous decision to revoke chlorpyrifos was based on a shift in policy by EPA to rely on epidemiological data rather than toxicological data when conducting human health risk assessments. This departure and reliance on epidemiological data was cautioned against by three separate FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panels (SAPs) and a concerning development that decisions on critical pesticide uses were not based in sound science.

While chlorpyrifos is currently not registered for use by the structural pest management industry the shift in policy and data reliance under the previous administration was alarming. The EPA’s statement to return to sound science and to stand-up against activists is a promising development for all pesticide applicators.