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Three US Marshal task force officers killed in NC shootout; MA municipalities aim to lower the voting age for local elections; breaking barriers for health equity with nutritional strategies; "Product of USA" label for meat items could carry more weight under the new rule.

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Big Pharma uses red meat rhetoric in a fight over drug costs. A school shooting mother opposes guns for teachers. Campus protests against the Gaza war continue, and activists decry the killing of reporters there.

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More rural working-age people are dying young compared to their urban counterparts, the internet was a lifesaver for rural students during the pandemic but the connection has been broken for many, and conservationists believe a new rule governing public lands will protect them for future generations.

Health, Labor Organizations Fight for Pesticide Ban

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Tuesday, July 10, 2018   

PHOENIX – Labor and health groups, along with seven states, are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency's decision not to ban a dangerous pesticide. Judges in a district court this week heard their arguments.

The EPA had proposed to ban the pesticide chlorpyrifos, but former chief Scott Pruitt reversed course when he took over the agency, saying science about the chemical's dangers was "unresolved."

Erik Nicholson is with the United Farm Workers. He disputes the agency's claim that the science isn't clear, saying research has linked the chemical to neurodevelopmental delays in children including reduced IQ and delayed motor development.

"There are well-documented studies about take-home exposure of pesticides and we feel confident in the science that the risk is way too high for any human being to be exposed to this chemical," he explains.

United Farm Workers is one of several groups asking judges to overturn the EPA's decision not to ban the chemical. The groups made final arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Monday. The judges are expected to reach a decision in the coming weeks or months.

The pesticide has been banned from home use for about two decades because of its health effects. It's used on many common crops including apples, oranges and broccoli.

Nicholson says many farm workers face increased exposure to this pesticide because, in addition to being on the food they handle, it's often in the air and water in rural areas where they live.

"Workers are scared, and they're put in a horrible position of having to risk their health, risk the health of their families, their children, in exchange for continuing their employment," he laments.

Nicholson says protecting farmworkers from pesticide exposure would be a win for everyone since it would also protect consumers who eat the produce.


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