Tell the EPA to ban acephate

What's At Stake

Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a ban on almost all uses of acephate, a widely used organophosphate pesticide found in celery, tomatoes, lettuce, and various other crops, due to acute poisoning risks from drinking water contamination. Acephate is also extremely harmful to farmworkers. 

This ban proposal comes three years after Earthjustice and our partners filed a petition urging the EPA to ban all organophosphates, including acephate. 

Organophosphates, a class of nerve agent chemicals extensively used on food crops, including vegetables, citrus fruits, and berries, have been the subject of scrutiny due to their link to adverse health effects such as reduced IQ, attention deficit disorders, and autism spectrum disorder, as indicated by peer-reviewed studies. 

Many organophosphates, including chlorpyrifos, remain in widespread use. Join us in thanking the EPA for proposing the acephate ban and calling on the EPA to ban all organophosphates. 

The EPA’s proposed acephate ban comes on the heels of an 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that overturned the EPA’s 2021 ban on food uses of chlorpyrifos, the most studied organophosphate. This was an unexpected setback, but the EPA has the ability and the legal authority to reinstate the ban. 

Regulating toxic chemicals is a core aspect of the EPA’s mission, but we need your help to make sure it doesn’t settle for half measures. Tell the EPA to protect our health by following through on the acephate ban, reinstating the chlorpyrifos ban, and put bans in place on all organophosphate pesticides. 

A child fills a drinking glass with water from the faucet.
A child fills a drinking glass with water from the faucet. (Cavan Images)

43 Days Remain

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