Update: Just last week, EPA announced a ban on all food uses of chlorpyrifos! Though the decision is not perfect \u2014 and we\u2019ll continue pressing for phaseout of all remaining, non-food uses of this dangerous chemical \u2014 this is a huge milestone that protects the health of millions of children, farmworkers and families. Next up, we\u2019ll continue pushing for the EPA to do the right thing by following the science and standing up to corporate influence.<\/p>\n
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Update: Just last week, EPA announced a ban on all food uses of chlorpyrifos<\/a>! Though the decision is not perfect \u2014 and we\u2019ll continue pressing for phaseout of all remaining, non-food uses of this dangerous chemical \u2014 this is a huge milestone that protects the health of millions of children, farmworkers and families. Next up, we\u2019ll continue pushing for the EPA to do the right thing by following the science and standing up to corporate influence.<\/em><\/p>\n Much as the chemical industry likes to complain about regulation, the fact is that the regulatory process in the U.S. is captured by corporate interests. As those of us who work on pesticide issues know well, industry\u2019s influence at EPA\u2019s Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) is an extreme case in point.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll never forget that elevator ride in the EPA headquarters building a few years back. I was in DC for some advocacy work with farmworker partners, a trip that had taken weeks of careful planning and was a stretch for our non-profit budgets.<\/p>\n One of the meetings we\u2019d arranged was with the enforcement unit of OPP. Our goals were to discuss progress on implementation of the new Worker Protection Standards and to check in on the status of some especially harmful pesticides like paraquat, atrazine and the brain-harming insecticide chlorpyrifos.<\/p>\n The office director came to escort us up to the meeting room after we navigated ourselves through security. In a moment of cheerful, clumsy candor in the elevator, he said this: \u201cIt\u2019s so nice to see you folks! We meet with the other side all the time!\u201d<\/p>\n Yes. Yes they do. For years, we\u2019ve been highlighting the outrageous access and influence pesticide corporations have at EPA. Alongside others in the movement, we\u2019ve documented the agency\u2019s behind-closed-door meetings with Syngenta about atrazine<\/a>, Monsanto (now Bayer) about glyphosate<\/a>, and Dow Agrosciences (now Corteva) about chlorpyrifos<\/a> \u2014 all of which yielded gratifying results (e.g., years of continued profits) for these industry giants. <\/p>\n Clearly these \u201call the time!\u201d sessions have been an effective way to keep toxic products on the market. <\/p>\n The resulting impacts on public health and the environment are staggering. Every year, millions of people across this country \u2014 especially children, farmworkers, farmers, and rural families \u2013 are exposed to hundreds of millions of pounds of pesticides<\/a> that have been deemed unsafe and banned in other countries, but are still widely used here.<\/p>\n Administrator Regan, I know you\u2019ve been busy and there\u2019s a lot to do, but you need to get the pesticide industry out of the driver\u2019s seat at OPP. Now.<\/p>\n For anyone who\u2019s not yet convinced this is a problem, a recent article in The Intercept<\/em><\/a> from investigative reporter Sharon Lerner may sway you. Lerner interviewed dozens of current and former OPP staffers, and found an office culture so deeply enmeshed with the pesticide industry that the corporations are often calling the shots.<\/p>\n Lerner reported that scientists are regularly told to look the other way if they see problems with studies submitted by registrants (regulatory lingo for the corporations that want their products approved). In some cases, there are serious flaws \u2014 but if the staffer persists in raising concerns, they may be putting their career at risk. One toxicologist told Lerner there was an \u201cunwritten rule that to get promotions, all pesticides need to pass.\u201d<\/p>\n As The Intercept<\/em> piece documents, this is exactly what happened with one of the core studies justifying use of chlorpyrifos decades ago. Generations of children and millions of workers have since been exposed to this neurotoxic chemical<\/a>. <\/p>\n Just a few more of the many eye-opening tidbits from Lerner\u2019s reporting:<\/p>\n Industry\u2019s oversized influence at EPA is hardly a secret. They have resources to spend on regulatory lobbying, and they spend it \u2014 clearly it\u2019s good bang for the buck. During the last administration this was particularly brazen<\/a>, since there was no need to hide. After all, a former coal industry lobbyist was in charge.<\/p>\n Hundreds of brilliant, dedicated scientists and civil servants at EPA are no doubt deeply frustrated by the political pressures that keep them from doing their job. Indeed, many of them threw up their hands and left during the last administration. Those that remain need strong leadership from the top to transform the internal culture in ways that put a solid firewall between their decisions and industry pressure. <\/p>\n Fundamental change is required that centers EPA\u2019s actual mission of \u201cprotecting public health and the environment,\u201d rather than bowing to corporations. This shift is crucial to this administration\u2019s official, government-wide goals<\/a> to \u201climit exposure to dangerous chemicals and pesticides,\u201d \u201creduce greenhouse gases\u201d and \u201cbolster resilience to climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly why \u201creducing the influence of corporate lobbyists\u201d was at the very top of the list of priorities<\/a> we (and 22k PAN supporters) delivered to Administrator Regan back in March. <\/p>\n When I worked at EPA headquarters many years ago, I learned there are two things that make decisions move quickly through layers of bureaucracy: a request from Congress (always in a yellow folder) and court ordered deadlines. <\/p>\n As we saw in Lerner\u2019s piece<\/a>, corporate lobbyists have learned the yellow folder lesson well. They can leverage their campaign gifts by asking members of Congress to \u201crequest\u201d that EPA make their product a \u201cyes package\u201d that will sail through with waived study requirements and accelerated review.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, groups like PAN go to court to force EPA to do its job, a strategy that\u2019s proven fairly effective \u2014 but is very, very slow. It was 2007 when we petitioned the agency to withdraw all uses of chlorpyrifos, already known back then to harm to children\u2019s developing brains. Fourteen years and many court appeals later, EPA is now finally poised to get this chemical off the market (the August 20 court deadline is coming up, click here<\/a> to urge them to get it right!). <\/p>\n But we really shouldn\u2019t have to sue and send action alerts to force EPA to do its job. It\u2019s a public agency, funded by our taxpayer dollars. They work for us. <\/p>\n\n\tUnfettered industry access & influence<\/h3>\n
\n\tNot convinced yet?<\/h3>\n
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\n\tA firewall, please.<\/h3>\n
\n\tTime for strong leadership, Mr. Regan<\/h3>\n