The Biden-Harris Administration stop the use of the agriculture pesticide Dacthal

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – As of this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the emergency suspension of all use of the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA or Dacthal) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

According to the EPA, FIFRA enforcement focuses on the sale, distribution, and use (which can include disposal) of pesticides. Generally, before a pesticide may be sold or distributed in the United States, it must be registered (licensed) with the EPA. Before EPA may register a pesticide under FIFRA, the applicant must show, among other things that using the pesticide according to specifications “will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment."

EPA has not taken this type of emergency action in 40 years but after efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to require the submission of data research, assessments and addressing the risk of the dacthal pesticide it is now banned in the U.S.

In a statement released by EPA, they said, "This action because unborn babies whose pregnant mothers are exposed to DCPA, sometimes without even knowing the exposure has occurred, could experience changes to fetal thyroid hormone levels, and these changes are generally linked to low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ, and impaired motor skills later in life, some of which may be irreversible."

“Farmworkers face burdensome conditions in the fields and often face exposure to harmful pesticides while working to feed our nation. I applaud the emergency action by the EPA which prioritizes farmworker health and safety, especially for pregnant women, by suspending this harmful chemical from our agricultural systems. We must continue to build on this progress and ensure all farmworkers are given the protection, workers' rights, and overtime pay they deserve,” said Congressman Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07).

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