"US EPA Forced To Decide This Month on Pesticide’s Fate"

"A California appeals court ruled this week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has until the end of this month to decide whether or not to ban a widely used pesticide linked to a number of health problems.

The order, filed yesterday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, forces the EPA’s hand on the pesticide chlorpyrifos (pronounced KLOR – pie -ra – phos), one the most commonly applied organophosphate pesticides with an estimated 10 million pounds applied annually.

While banned for more than a decade for household use, it’s still used commercially on corn, soybeans, fruit and nut trees and some golf courses. In 2012 the EPA required homes and schools to have buffers to reduce exposure.

The order is in response to a lawsuit filed in 2007 by the Pesticide Action Network and the Natural Resources Defense Council calling for the EPA to cancel registration for the pesticide."

Brian Bienkowski reports for Environmental Health News June 11, 2015.