Earthjustice has introduced a go well with towards the EPA on behalf of farmworker and public well being teams for failure to answer a petition calling for the company to ban organophosphate pesticides1. The go well with was filed June 25, 4 years after Earthjustice filed the petition urging the company to take motion towards the usage of this harmful class of pesticides.
The Dangers of Organophosphate Pesticides
Organophosphates (OPs) have been linked to behavioral issues in kids and, at excessive ranges, are deadly to farmworkers and people in farm communities. In 2021, no less than 25 kids in India had been killed from consuming contaminated rice, soybeans, and lentils2. And the checklist goes on — in Uganda, practically 1,600 deaths had been linked to the pesticide between 2017 and 20223. This yr, the South African authorities banned organophosphate terbufos following the dying of six kids who had eaten contaminated snacks4.
“Farmworkers are the primary to face hurt, however shut behind are individuals, together with kids, who reside or attend colleges close to handled fields, or go to ‘pick-your-own’ farms the place crops are handled with pesticides,” mentioned Dr. Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist at NRDC (Pure Assets Protection Council).
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Even Low-Stage Publicity Can Trigger Hurt
Even low-level organophosphate publicity has been proven to hurt mind improvement in kids. A 2010 examine in Pediatrics discovered a hyperlink between the presence of organophosphates in kids’s urine and the danger of creating ADHD5.
“The EPA acknowledged a decade in the past that organophosphates can impair kids’s studying and behaviors, however the authorities retains dragging its toes,” mentioned Patti Goldman, senior legal professional at Earthjustice. “Our youngsters deserve long-overdue EPA motion in order that they don’t endure preventable hurt.”
And that’s not the one threat of low-level publicity. A 2025 examine in Surroundings Worldwide confirmed that organophosphates might have a destructive impact on intestine microbiota, which might result in linked points together with temper issues and metabolic illness6. A 2025 examine in Genes & Illnesses discovered a hyperlink between organophosphate publicity and male infertility7, and a 2016 examine in Acta Neurologica Scandinavica discovered a hyperlink between organophosphate publicity and the danger of creating Parkinson’s Illness8.
What Are Organophosphates?
Organophosphates had been initially derived in Germany within the Forties from World Conflict II nerve brokers (we all know, it’s precisely as unhealthy because it sounds). As we speak, they’re extensively used as pesticides on strawberries, citrus, peaches, and wheat.
They’re not the primary pesticides to attract consideration for his or her harmful results, they usually gained’t be the final — we’ve lined how pesticides wreak havoc on our bee inhabitants, trigger degenerative issues, and have been linked to most cancers. Understanding these dangers is essential if we wish to take management of our well being, and it’s what Earthjustice goals to do on our behalf with this lawsuit.
Which Organophosphates Are We Speaking About?
About 40 organophosphates are nonetheless permitted to be used in america, however many of the research on their toxicity have targeted on chlorpyrifos, which has traditionally been one of the vital extensively used of those pesticides within the U.S. The EPA banned chlorpyrifos in 2021 following a problem filed by Earthjustice9, however the ban was overturned on enchantment in 2023.
As we speak, chlorpyrifos can nonetheless be used on 11 crops within the U.S., together with fruits like apples, oranges, peaches, and cherries (practically all of that are gadgets that made the EWG’s Soiled Dozen checklist of produce with the best pesticide publicity). To present you a way of how a lot the EPA actually is dragging its toes, chlorpyrifos has been banned within the UK since 2016, within the EU and Thailand since 2020, and in Canada since December 2023.
In 2024, the EPA proposed phasing out one other organophosphate, acephate, on account of issues relating to ingesting water contamination10. Regardless of this proposal, a plan to take action has but to materialize.
“Contemplating the truth that EPA’s personal scientists have publicly expressed concern about EPA threat analyses for organophosphates not adequately addressing exposures to infants and kids, it’s unconscionable that the EPA continues to manage OPs primarily based on trade’s financial pursuits fairly than sound, health-protective science,” mentioned Margaret Reeves, Ph.D., senior scientist at Pesticide Motion and Agroecology Community.
Sources:
- https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025.06.25-op-mandamus-petition.pdf
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tradition/article/130718-organophosphates-pesticides-indian-food-poisoning
- https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/information/nationwide/report-links-1-600-deaths-to-pesticide-poisoning-4441718
- https://www.msn.com/en-us/cash/different/officials-ban-toxic-product-that-caused-widespread-food-poisoning-we-will-now-likely-see-the-deaths-of-children-from-this-poison-decline-rapidly/ar-AA1HMYRA
- https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/125/6/e1270/72448/Consideration-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Dysfunction-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202500220X
- https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Merchandise-Show/ItemId/260403?returnurl=https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Merchandise-Show/ItemId/260403
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ane.12707
- https://earthjustice.org/press/2023/in-shocking-decision-Eighth-circuit-sends-chlorpyrifos-food-use-ban-back-to-epa
- https://earthjustice.org/press/2024/epa-proposes-banning-toxic-food-pesticide-over-drinking-water-concerns
