For Immediate Release: August 1, 2014
Contact: Paul Towers, PAN, 916-216-1082, ptowers@panna.org
After 6 months of waiting, groups demand response on neurotoxic pesticide
60+ groups urge California officials to take action on brain-harming chlorpyrifos
Sacramento, CA – After six months without a response, over 60 health, food, farmworker, medical, and environmental organizations sent a letter to California officials today urging immediate action to protect children from the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos.
The groups – in coordination with Californians for Pesticide Reform – sent a similar letter in January. The letter comes on the heels of research from the University of California that ties early life exposures to developmental delays in children and as a comprehensive report by the California Department of Public Health shows heavy use of chlorpyrifos near California schools.
The letter opens:
“The Department of Pesticide Regulation’s (“DPR’s”) unwarranted, and decade-long, delay in the re-evaluation of chlorpyrifos, despite scientific evidence of harm to California’s children and farmworkers, is unacceptable. In order to fulfill its mandate to ensure the safety of pesticides used in California, DPR cannot continue to ignore the science and must reduce chlorpyrifos exposures for California’s most vulnerable.”
PAN campaign coordinator Medha Chandra, PhD, echoed these concerns in a statement:
“California has a responsibility to lead the way and protect children from neurotoxic chlorpyrifos. The evidence from the fields and in the labs is clear, this pesticide must be phased out, and state officials should institute immediate protections for the state’s children, including increasing no-spray zones around children and banning the use of antiquated air blasters when applying the product.”
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