Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announced her support for legislation to re-ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide “that has been linked to damaging and often irreversible health outcomes in workers, pregnant women, and children,” according to a press release.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard announced her support for legislation to re-ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide “that has been linked to damaging and often irreversible health outcomes in workers, pregnant women, and children,” according to a press release.
In March, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed an existing ban on the use of chlorpyrifos.
“In addition to numerous harmful effects on human health, the chemical also creates severe learning and memory deficits in honey bees — potentially jeopardizing a critical pollinator and the health of ecosystems around the world,” the release said. “Agriculture companies sprayed approximately six million pounds of chlorpyrifos on crops between 2009 and 2013, prior to the Obama-era ban.
On Kauai, after Syngenta Hawaii workers were accidentally exposed to chlorpyrifos in 2016 and 2017, Syngenta opted to pay a fine of $150,000 and spend $400,000 on worker protection training sessions. The EPA was originally seeking nearly $5 million in fines.
“Administrator Pruitt’s decision to lift the ban on chlorpyrifos was reckless and short-sighted, and has put the health and well-being of our keiki, expecting mothers, field workers, agricultural communities, and aina at risk,” Gabbard said. “We’ve seen the direct impact here at home, where Kauai workers were hospitalized after exposure to this dangerous chemical. The fact that the Trump-run EPA allowed Syngenta to get away with a slap on the wrist after this illegal act is absolutely unacceptable.”
Gabbard said industrial agri-businesses must be held accountable “for putting profits over the health and safety of the American people and our planet.”
