Cases

Stopping the Use of Humans as Test Subjects in Pesticide Research

The EPA's earlier rule on pesticide testing on humans favored the chemical industry and did not meet the scientific and ethical standards recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and outlined by the Nuremberg Code after World War II.

Clients

Natural Resources Defense CouncilPesticide Action NetworkPhysicians for Social ResponsibilityPineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste

Attorneys

Jan HasselmanPatti Goldman

Regional Office / Program

Northwest Office

Case Overview

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had issued a rule on pesticide testing on humans that favored the chemical industry and did not meet the scientific and ethical standards recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and outlined by the Nuremberg Code after World War II.

In 2006, a coalition of health and environmental advocates, and farmworker protection groups, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit against EPA in 2006 agency seeking to prohibit EPA’s reliance on these unethical experiments that often led to weakened pesticide safety standards. The groups claimed that the 2006 rule violated a law Congress passed a year earlier requiring strict ethical and scientific protections for pesticide testing on humans.

In June 2010, the EPA settled this lawsuit and agreed to propose a new rule that would significantly strengthen scientific and ethical protections for tests of pesticides on humans.

In 2013, the EPA strengthened federal standards that make it harder for the chemical industry to use people as test subjects in pesticide research.

A child and adult walk through a field.

Case Updates

February 8, 2013 Press Release: Victory

Overdue Standards Better Protect People from Human Pesticide Tests

The pesticide industry has used unethical, unscientific tests of pesticides on human subjects to push for weakened federal controls. Earthjustice legal action led to new EPA standards that limit this egregious practice.

December 7, 2012 Article

Friday Finds: Fido’s Chemical Body Burden

Your favorite four-legged companion may get a dose of toxic chemicals the next time you throw him/her a chew toy. That’s the conclusion of an as-yet unpublished study, which found that dogs that chew on plastic toys may be exposed to hormone-altering chemicals like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. The new study, conducted at Texas Tech University, is one of the first to examine dog products as carriers of toxic chemicals. It’s not the first study, however, to look at…

January 25, 2011 Press Release

EPA Proposes Stronger Protections for People in Pesticide Experiments

Rule barring unethical research moves closer to completion

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Case page created on February 24, 2006.