EPA Pesticide Overview:
- WHO: The Environmental Protection Agency has issued an emergency order for pesticide products containing dimethyltetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA).
- Why: The chemicals could harm the fetuses of pregnant women, the order says.
- Where: The emergency decree applies within the United States.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued an emergency order suspending the registration of all pesticide products containing certain chemicals because those chemicals can harm the fetuses of pregnant women, the order says.
The US Environmental Protection Agency published the Emergency Ordinance to the Federal Register on August 7.
It applies to all pesticide products containing the active ingredient dimethyltetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA), which is also sold under the trade name Dacthal.
The EPA stated that it issued the emergency order because it concluded that “the continued sale, distribution, or use of DCPA products during the period required to withdraw the order for those products would pose an imminent danger.”
DCPA can harm fetuses, says EPA
The decision was made because there is a risk of disruption of thyroid hormone levels in fetuses of female passersby and workers who apply DCPA or enter treated fields after application, the EPA said.
DCPA is approved for agricultural uses, including root vegetables, fruiting vegetables, strawberries, turf and ornamental plants in nurseries, the release said. Nonagricultural uses of DCPA include grass and lawns outside residential areas, including golf courses and athletic fields.
“EPA is concerned that pregnant women may currently be exposed to levels of DCPA that exceed those that would cause disturbances in fetal thyroid hormone levels but would not cause thyroid effects in pregnant women,” the federal agency said in a statement.
The effects of such hormone imbalances in the fetus could include low birth weight and irreversible and lifelong effects on children affected in the womb, such as impaired brain development and motor skills, according to the EPA. These are not always obvious in affected children at birth but can become apparent later, the statement said.
“The health problems associated with thyroid hormone disturbances have long-term consequences for children exposed before birth that, if diagnosed later, would likely not be recognized as a result of earlier pesticide exposure,” the EPA statement said.
No practical way to mitigate the damage, says the agency
While the sole registrant of DCPA products, AMVAC Chemical Corporation (AMVAC), has attempted to address these concerns, the EPA said it has determined that there is no combination of
“practicable remedies” under which the use of DCPA can continue without imminent danger.
Affected products include Dacthal Flowable Herbicide, Dacthal W-75 Herbicide and Technical Chlorthal Dimethyl.
In April, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed the first Regulations for per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water.
Public water systems have five years to implement solutions that reduce the amount of these perennial chemicals in drinking water beyond acceptable levels.
What do you think about this emergency decree? Let us know in the comments.
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