Children's Health Defense By
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has “a legal duty to protect infants and children against the toxic effects of pesticides,” said Dr. Phil Landrigan, a professor of public health and epidemiologist at Boston College. “And they appear not to have taken that responsibility seriously.”
By Grace Van Deelen
Federal regulators are poised to allow U.S. farmers to start applying a pesticide currently restricted to non-food uses on fields producing an array of food crops in a move that scientists and advocates say could threaten human and ecological health.
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed decision to allow the first-ever uses of chlormequat chloride on wheat, barley, oats and a hybrid of rye and wheat known as triticale.
The agency said the move is aimed at helping farmers limit the bending and breaking of small grains, a condition called lodging, which can impair harvesting and reduce yields.
The pesticide acts as a plant growth regulator, controlling plant size by blocking hormones that stimulate growth prior to bloom.
Chlormequat is not currently approved for use on food or animal feed in the U.S., though it has been allowed for use on ornamental crops grown in nurseries and greenhouses since 1962.
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