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Bill is the Protect Children, Farmers and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act of 2017.

July 26, 2017

1 Min Read
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New Mexico Democrat Tom Udall has introduced a bill that would ban chlorpyrifos, Reuters is reporting

On March 29, the EPA denied a petition to ban the chemical and on July 18 a federal appeals court denied a petition to force the agency to reverse its decision.

Chlorpyrifos is an insecticide that has been linked to brain damage in children.

Udall's bill is the Protect Children, Farmers and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act of 2017. 

Chlorphyrifos is widely used on crops in the United States. A University of California-Berkeley study found 87% of umbilical-cord blood samples tested had detectable levels of chlorpyrifos.

“In addition to permanently slowing brain development in children, the EPA has found that chlorpyrifos hurts 97% of endangered species,” said Lori Ann Burd, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s environmental health program, in a media statement.

Senate co-sponsors include: Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, Kamala Harris, D-California, Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, Richard Durbin, D-Illinois and Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts.

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