EPA Petitioned to Ban Pesticide Known to Make Farmworkers and Families Ill

Cornucopia’s Take: Chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate pesticide generally banned from home use, continues to be allowed in conventional farming. Several groups have joined together to ask the EPA to ban the sickening chemical. To support farmworker health, buy organic food, which cannot be sprayed with harmful chemicals.

Latinx Farmworkers and Health Groups File Petition for EPA to Ban Pesticide
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by Yessenia Funes

Chlorpyrifos is typically not allowed for home use—so why is it OK on farms?

Farmworkers, labor and community health groups across the country petitioned the EPA today (September 21) to demand the agency immediately ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness and even unconsciousness in severe instances.

“We are seeking an immediate and total chlorpyrifos ban because farmworkers have been overexposed, even with all the protective clothing that could possibly be required,” says Erik Nicholson, United Farm Workers national vice president, in a statement sent to Colorlines. “It’s nearly impossible for them to escape chlorpyrifos exposure because the poison is in the air they breathe, in the food they eat and in the soil where their children play.”

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