EPA won’t ban pesticide linked to health problems in children

The EPA announced yesterday that it won’t be banning chlorpyrifos, a pesticide known to cause neurological damage in children. Sold under the name Lorsban, the chemical is banned for household use but is still used by farmers. Exposure to the chemical has been linked to lower birth weights and reduced IQ in children. The Obama administration in 2015 began the regulatory process to ban the chemical, but the Trump administration reversed course. The EPA denied a petition by a coalition of environmental groups and seven states, saying there wasn’t enough data to suggest that the amount of pesticide residue in food was unsafe.