ARA: recent chlorpyrifos ban could set dangerous precedent

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ARA: recent chlorpyrifos ban could set dangerous precedent

The President and CEO of the Ag Retailers Association says he’s concerned the recent chlorpyrifos decision could set a dangerous precedent.

Daren Coppock says the change didn’t go through the normal pesticide regulation process under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

“What EPA has done instead is they’ve canceled food use tolerances, which is under a totally different statue and didn’t require any kind of public notice or comment,” he says. “Technically the product is still registered under FIFRA but if you apply it and there is some kind of residue of that product on the food crop afterwards, that food crop can’t be sold because it’s in violation of the tolerance which is zero…It represents an end run-around the pesticide statues that are supposed to regulate these decisions under FIFRA. The court and environmentalists have now found a way to end run-around that statue and if this is the pattern for how we’re going to regulate these products in the future, we have a huge problem.”

He tells Brownfield “The same groups have already said ‘well, if we’re going to ban chlorpyrifos, we should ban organophosphates for the same reason.’ They’re going to build on that platform and eventually go after every crop protection product they can find and essentially regulate them off the market through the court.”

The EPA has announced it will ban the use of chlorpyrifos on all food crops grown in the U.S. Last week, The EPA issued a final rule revoking all tolerances, which establish the amounts of the pesticide allowed on food. The agency says it will also issue notice of intent to cancel all registered food uses under the FIFRA.  

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