{"id":19521,"date":"2020-02-03T22:37:43","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T22:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=19521"},"modified":"2020-02-04T04:43:27","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T04:43:27","slug":"why-california-is-banning-chlorpyrifos-a-widely-used-pesticide-5-questions-answered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/why-california-is-banning-chlorpyrifos-a-widely-used-pesticide-5-questions-answered\/","title":{"rendered":"Why California is banning chlorpyrifos, a widely-used pesticide: 5 questions answered"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gina Solomon<\/a>, University of California, San Francisco<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: California, the top U.S. food-producing state, is ending use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide associated with neurodevelopmental problems and impaired brain function in children. Gina Solomon<\/a>, a principal investigator at the Public Health Institute<\/a>, clinical professor at the University of California San Francisco and former deputy secretary at the California Environmental Protection Agency<\/a>, explains the scientific evidence that led California to act.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. What is chlorpyrifos and how is it used?<\/h2>\n

Chlorpyrifos is an inexpensive and effective pesticide that has been on the market since 1965. Farmers across the U.S. use millions of pounds<\/a> of it each year on a wide range of crops, including many different vegetables, corn, soybeans, cotton and fruit and nut trees.<\/p>\n

Like other organophosphate insecticides<\/a>, chlorpyrifos is designed to kill insects by blocking an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase<\/a>. This enzyme normally breaks down acetylcholine, a chemical that the body uses to transmit nerve impulses. Blocking the enzyme causes insects to have convulsions and die. All organophosphate insecticides are also toxic and potentially lethal to humans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Until 2000, chlorpyrifos was also used in homes for pest control. It was banned for indoor use after passage of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act<\/a>, which required additional protection of children\u2019s health. Residues left after indoor use were quite high, and toddlers who crawled on the floor and put their hands in their mouth were found to be at risk of poisoning.<\/p>\n

Despite the ban on household use and the fact that chlorpyrifos doesn\u2019t linger in the body, over 75% of people in the U.S. still have traces of chlorpyrifos in their bodies<\/a>, mostly due to residues on food. Higher exposures have been documented in farm workers<\/a> and people who live or work near agricultural fields<\/a>.<\/p>\n