EPA may ban common pesticide used on fruits and vegetables
WASHINGTON ( AP ) - A common pesticide used on citrus fruits , almonds and other crops would be banned under a proposal announced Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency .
The proposal would prohibit use of chlorpyrifos , a widely used insecticide that is sprayed on a variety of crops including oranges , apples , cherries , grapes , broccoli and asparagus .
The pesticide , in use since 1965 , has sickened dozens of farmworkers in recent years . Traces have been found in waterways , threatening fish , and regulators say overuse could make targeted insects immune to the pesticide .
U . S . farms use more than 6 million pounds of the chemical each year - about 25 percent of it in California .
The EPA said it will take public comments on the proposal for at least two months , with a final rule expected in December 2016 . The rule would not take effect until 2017 at the earliest .
The EPA said in a written statement that its current analysis does not suggest risks from exposure to chlorpyrifos in food . But when those exposures are combined with estimated exposure from drinking water in certain watersheds , " EPA cannot conclude that the risk from aggregate exposure meets the Federal Food , Drug and Cosmetic Act safety standard ," the statement said .
The EPA banned home use of chlorpyrifos in 2000 and placed " no-spray " buffer zones around sensitive sites , such as schools , in 2012 .
But environmental and public health groups say those proposals don ' t go far enough .
The Natural Resources Defense Council and other groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking a national ban on chlorpyrifos . The advocacy groups say the pesticide interferes with brain development of fetuses , infants and children .
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