"Pesticides: Spurned by EPA, Groups Take Chlorpyrifos Fight To Court"

"Environmentalists asked a federal court today to compel U.S. EPA to take action on a common farm pesticide linked to children's health risks.

In a motion with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, green groups slammed the agency for rejecting a proposed ban on the chemical, chlorpyrifos, after past assessments pointed out risks.

The agency's response "is remarkable in its utter silence as to EPA's previous findings," the groups told the court. "Nowhere does EPA suggest that it has reconsidered its finding that chlorpyrifos is unsafe."

The groups, Pesticide Action Network North America and the Natural Resources Defense Council, petitioned EPA in 2007 to ban the pesticide. It has been banned indoors since 2000 but is commonly used in agriculture. More than half the apples grown in the United States are treated with it."

Amanda Reilly reports for Greenwire April 5, 2017.