The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today a proposed rule prohibiting most food uses of chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate pesticide linked to neurodevelopmental harm in children. Chlorpyrifos will be allowed on alfalfa, apple, asparagus, cherry, citrus, cotton, peach, soybean, strawberry, sugar beet, and wheat.

This proposed rule follows a 2023 decision by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that overturned EPA’s full ban on chlorpyrifos. EPA’s proposed partial ban will stop all other food uses of chlorpyrifos, but the agency does not plan to determine whether the 11 remaining uses are safe until 2026, despite the 8th Circuit’s direction to do so over one year ago. These crops represent about one-third of the pesticide’s previous use on food crops.

“The newlyproposed restrictions are a step forward, but they fall short of fully protecting children, farmworkers, and our food supply,” said Patti Goldman, attorney at Earthjustice. “This administration inherited a backlog of pesticides needing action to safeguard children from preventable learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. Unless the EPA acts quickly to finalize proposed food bans on chlorpyrifos and other organophosphates, it will leave children without desperately needed protections.”

Chlorpyrifos, part of the organophosphate family — which includes sarin nerve gas — was widely used on crops like soybeans, apples, citrus, broccoli, and cherries for decades. In early 2022, the EPA issued a nationwide ban on chlorpyrifos in food and feed crops following legal action by Earthjustice and its clients, but the ban was later revoked after a chemical corporation and some grower organizations sued the EPA, seeking to retain the uses that are not part of the partial food ban proposed by EPA today.

Scientific studies, including research by Columbia University, have consistently linked chlorpyrifos exposure to neurodevelopmental harm in children. Very small exposures during pregnancy can cause irreversible harm to developing brains, leading to decreased IQ, autism, and hyperactivity.