skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, November 23, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump suffers first defeat but as always doubles down for the next fight; From Ohio to Azerbaijan: How COP29 could shape local farming; Funding boosts 'green' projects in Meadville, PA; VA apprenticeships bridge skills gaps, offer career stability.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump has a new pick for Attorney General, his incoming "border czar" warns local Democratic officials not to impede mass deportation, and the House passes legislation that could target any nonprofit group accused of supporting terrorism.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The CDC has a new plan to improve the health of rural Americans, updated data could better prepare folks for flash floods like those that devastated Appalachia, and Native American Tribes could play a key role in the nation's energy future.

Federal Court Urged to Order Pesticide Ban

play audio
Play

Tuesday, July 10, 2018   

NEW YORK – A federal court will determine if the EPA should be ordered to ban a pesticide linked to brain damage in children.

Seven states and a coalition of environmental and labor groups made final arguments before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday in their challenge to the EPA's refusal to ban chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate related to sarin nerve gas.

According to Hector Sanchez, executive director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, a ban on the agricultural use of the chemical is long overdue.

"These pesticides are very toxic for farm workers," he says. "They have been proven to lower the IQ of children, they have loss of working memory and attention deficit disorders, something that is totally unacceptable."

Against the recommendation of its own scientists, last year the EPA claimed the science on chlorpyrifos is "unresolved" and allowed its use to continue until it revisits the issue in 2022.

Sanchez notes the Trump administration makes the same claim about climate change. And he points out that prior to allowing continued use of chlorpyrifos, former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt met with Dow Chemical, maker of the pesticide.

"The corporations are heavily invested in supporting this kind of politicians, but the farm workers don't have a seat at the table," he laments. "There are no spaces in this administration to listen on why we should not be using this pesticide."

He adds that Latinos account for 75 percent of agricultural workers in the United States.

Chlorpyrifos is used extensively on apples, a major crop in New York, and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. It was banned for residential use almost 20 years ago. Sanchez says the EPA's refusal to ban agricultural use puts everyone at risk.

"Corporations are profiting at the expense of the health of our children and families, and this is a call to action," he adds. "This is a call to end the pain of our families."

Last month the state of Hawaii banned the agricultural use of chlorpyrifos.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The smoking rate among adults in Maryland is 9.6%, much lower than the national average of 12.9%. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report on lung cancer by the American Lung Association showed Maryland has quite a bit of room to improve diagnoses and treatment but experts sa…


Social Issues

play sound

La Niña is bringing a cooler, wetter winter to Oregon and likely driving up heating bills as systems work harder. This is the third year of …

Environment

play sound

The number of pedestrians and bicyclists killed on roadways in the U.S. has nearly doubled in the past 12 years and a New Mexico researcher wants to …


Social Issues

play sound

CLARIFICATION: We updated language to clarify the timing for when the study's authors began tracking certain outcome measures for children within the …

Health and Wellness

play sound

By Kyla Russell for WISH-TV.Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the WISH-TV-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service C…

Social Issues

play sound

A recent study from Florida Atlantic University highlights a concerning rise in alcohol-related deaths across the United States, with mortality rates …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021