Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Saturday 11 May 2019

California to ban pesticide it says hurts babies’ brains

By BRIAN MELLEY understood pesticides be-
Associated Press cause it’s been so exten-
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The sively studied.
nation’s most productive “We know a lot about what
agricultural state moved it does to developing chil-
Wednesday to ban a con- dren, and that science is
troversial pesticide widely the bedrock of the action
used to control a range that Cal-EPA is announc-
of insects but blamed for ing,” she said. “Many pes-
harming brain develop- ticides have been studied
ment in babies. well in lab rats, but in this
The move cheered by envi- case, we actually know
ronmentalists would outlaw what it does to people.”
chlorpyrifos after scientists Studies in cities where the
deemed it a toxic air con- pesticide was once used
taminant and discovered to kill cockroaches before
it to be more dangerous it was banned for indoor
than previously thought. use in 2000 and in rural
California Environmental farmworker communities
Secretary Jared Blumen- showed it harmed brain
feld said it’s the first time development in fetuses
the state has sought to ban In this July 21, 2015, file photo, a nearly ready-to-harvest almond is seen in an orchard in Newman, and affected reading abil-
a pesticide and the move Calif. ity, IQ and led to hyperac-
was overdue. Associated Press tivity in children, Solomon
“This pesticide is a neuro- we keep losing tools.” Natural Resources Defense II. Its heavy use has often said. Even head sizes were
toxin, and it was first put Creamer questioned the Council. “The science left traces in drinking water smaller in children whose
on the market in 1965,” scientific studies behind the clearly shows that chlorpy- sources. A 2012 study by mothers were exposed to
Blumenfeld said. “So it’s decision and said remov- rifos is too dangerous to use the University of California, the pesticide.
been on the shelf a long ing the pesticide could hurt in our fields. Since Califor- Berkeley, found that 87% of While the ban — techni-
time, and it’s past its sell-by efforts to prevent a pest nia uses more chlorpyrifos umbilical-cord blood sam- cally known as a cancel-
date.” like the Asian citrus psyllid than any other state, this ples tested from newborn lation — could take up to
The decision comes after from decimating the citrus ban will not only protect babies contained detect- two years to take effect,
regulators in several states industry in California like it kids who live here, but kids able levels of the pesticide. the state Department of
have taken steps in re- did in much of Florida. The who eat the fruits and veg- Dr. Gina Solomon, a medi- Pesticide Regulation has
cent years to restrict the pest infects citrus trees with gies grown here.” cal professor at the Univer- recommended that coun-
pesticide used on about a fatal disease. The pesticide is in a class of sity of California, San Fran- ty agriculture commission-
60 different crops in Cali- Blumenfeld said California organophosphates chemi- cisco, and former deputy ers adopt stricter rules on
fornia, including grapes, took action in part because cally similar to a nerve gas secretary of Cal-EPA, said where and how the chemi-
almonds and oranges. Ha- the federal government al- developed by Nazi Ger- chlorpyrifos is unusual in cal can be applied, includ-
waii banned it last year, lowed the pesticide to be many before World War that it’s one of the best ing larger buffer zones.q
and New York lawmakers used after the Obama ad-
recently sent a measure to ministration tried to phase it
the governor outlawing use out. UN: Plastic waste pact approved with
of the pesticide. The U.S. Environmental
DowDuPont, which pro- Protection Agency under U.S. among few holdouts
duces the pesticide, said it President Donald Trump
was disappointed with the reversed that effort after
decision and that farmers reevaluating the science. GENEVA (AP) — Almost ev-
ery country in the world has
who rely on the pesticide Environmental groups and
say it will hurt their ability to farmworkers challenged agreed on a legally bind-
ing framework for reduc-
control insects. that decision, and a feder-
“It’s a very important part al appeals court last month ing polluting plastic waste,
with the United States a
of the crop protection tool ordered the EPA to decide
box,” said Casey Creamer, by July whether to ban the notable exception, United
Nations environmental offi-
president of California Cit- pesticide.
rus Mutual, which repre- “This is a historic victory for cials said Friday. An agree-
ment on tracking thou-
sents 5,000 growers. “We’re California’s agricultural
fighting for our lives here communities and for chil- sands of types of plastic
waste emerged at the end
trying to protect ourselves dren nationwide,” said
from deadly diseases, and Miriam Rotkin-Ellman of the of a two-week meeting of
U.N.-backed conventions
on plastic waste and tox-
ic, hazardous chemicals. In this Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016 file photo, a man guides a raft through
Discarded plastic clutters a polluted canal littered with plastic bags and other garbage in
pristine land, floats in huge Mumbai, India.
masses in oceans and en- Associated Press
tangles wildlife, sometimes vention means countries sector, to the consumer
with deadly results. Rolph will have to monitor and market — that we need to
Payet of the United Nations track movements of plastic do something,” Payet said.
Environment Program said waste outside their borders. “Countries have decided
the “historic” agreement “It’s sending a very strong to do something which will
linked to the 186-country, political signal to the rest of translate into real action on
U.N.-supported Basel Con- the world — to the private the ground.”q