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Pesticide Action Network

Pesticide Action Network

Chlorpyrifos sales in California to end by February 2020

For immediate release – October 9, 2019

SACRAMENTO, CA — This afternoon, the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) announced sales of the neurodevelopmental toxicant pesticide chlorpyrifos will end by February 2020, and use will end by December 2020. Until then, all uses must comply with existing restrictions, including a ban on aerial spraying, quarter-mile buffer zones and limiting use to crop-pest combinations that lack alternatives. The Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) will support aggressive enforcement of these restrictions.This announcement follows Governor Newsom’s historic May 2019 decision to initiate the process to cancel the registration of the pesticide for use in the state of California.

Medha Chandra, California Organizer and Policy Advocate with Pesticide Action Network issued the following statement:

“Pesticide Action Network applauds this historic action. We’re confident that ending the sale and use of chlorpyrifos will protect all Californians, especially children and farmworkers, from exposure to this highly hazardous brain-damaging pesticide.

“We’re encouraged by the commitment that Governor Newsom, CalEPA, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture have shown in taking swift action to end chlorpyrifos sales after Governor Newsom’s May 2019 decision to initiate the cancelation process. While we await progress on chlorpyrifos at the federal level, PAN applauds action at the state level. Governor Newsom is protecting generations of California children from brain damage.

“As we look toward ending chlorpyrifos use across California by December 2020, we urge the administration to recognize the fundamental role soil health plays in ensuring crop health and resilience to pests and disease, and to focus on integrated pest management as an alternative to chlorpyrifos.”

Media contact:
Ahna Kruzic, ahna@panna.org
(510) 927-5379

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Pesticide Action Network works to create a just, thriving food system. PAN works alongside those on the frontlines of pesticide exposure — from farmworkers to rural communities to beekeepers. PAN links local and international consumer, labor, health, environment and agriculture groups into an international citizens’ action network. Together, we challenge the global proliferation of pesticides, defend basic rights to health and environmental quality, and work to ensure the transition to a just and viable food system.

Pesticide Action Network

Pesticide Action Network

Pesticide Action Network is dedicated to advancing alternatives to pesticides worldwide. Follow @pesticideaction

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