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Media Release 12/04/03:
Groups Sue Department of Pesticide Regulation For Failure to Regulate Harmful Chemicals
Agency failed to re-evaluate pesticide products containing the toxic chemical chlorpyrifos despite scientific evidence that it contaminates our waters and harms aquatic species
San Francisco, CA — Environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Pesticide Regulation ("DPR") yesterday in response to the agency’s decision that it would not re-evaluate pesticides that contain the harmful chemical chlorpyrifos. California law requires DPR to re-evaluate chemicals under specific circumstances, including where the evidence "suggest[s]" that a chemical could harm the environment. Deltakeeper and San Francisco Baykeeper, projects of Waterkeepers Northern California, and Californians for Alternatives to Toxics ("CATs") challenged the agency’s assertion that there "is not yet sufficient information" to re-evaluate chlorpyrifos by submitting over 50 studies linking this class of chemicals to various types of aquatic toxicity, including fish abnormalities.
"It’s time for DPR to begin protecting the citizens of California rather than the chemical industry," said Deltakeeper Bill Jennings. "During the summer of 2003, Regional Board agricultural staff found toxicity attributable to chlorpyrifos at a third of the sites they monitored. Overall, aquatic pesticide toxicity was identified at two-thirds of the sites sampled."
Chlorpyrifos insecticides are some of the most widely used in the United States with over 2 million pounds reported for structural pest control and agricultural applications every year. These applications contribute to massive polluted rain runoff into the two largest watersheds in California, the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers.
"Scientific studies show that even low levels of chlorpyrifos runoff directly harm fish, many of which are endangered species. The chemical disrupts the food chain and the endocrine system, which can lead to abnormalities during development and a weakened immune response," said Patty Clary, Executive Director of CATs.
Both DPR regulations and California law mandate that the agency can only renew the registration of a pesticide ingredient if it first finds that a reevaluation of the harmful impacts is not required. Reevaluation is required when DPR has evidence that the chemical is causing an adverse impact on the environment or human health. Last December, Waterkeepers and CATS submitted over 50 scientific studies to DPR regarding the damaging impacts of chlorpyrifos products. Even though DPR scientists admit that many of these studies warrant re-evaluation, the agency claims that more evidence is needed before they will act.
"The evidence we’ve provided more than suggests that chlorpyrifos is harming the environment," said Sejal Choksi, the pesticide program attorney at Waterkeepers. "Unless money starts growing on trees and is used to support more agency research efforts, DPR is not going to get much more data. But that doesn’t mean the agency can ignore the numerous studies we already have demonstrating toxicity."
