EPA takes emergency action to stop use of dangerous pesticide

For the first time in 40 years, the Environmental Protection Agency has taken emergency action to stop the use of a pesticide linked to serious health risks for unborn babies.

Tuesday’s emergency order applies to dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, also known as DCPA, a weedkiller used on crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions. When pregnant farmworkers and others are exposed to the pesticide, their babies can experience changes to fetal thyroid hormone levels, which are linked to low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ and impaired motor skills later in life.

“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately,” Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a statement. “It’s EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems.”

The European Union banned DCPA in 2009. But the EPA has been slower to act, frustrating some environmental and public health advocates.