Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate that was created in 1965 for WWII chemical warfare and later emerged as an insecticide used in homes and agriculture to get rid of pests.
In 2000, chlorpyrifos was banned from household use because of the harmful pesticide exposure on the developing brain. The use of chlorpyrifos has detrimental prenatal health effects to children, causing cognitive dysfunction and reducing lifetime economic productivity.
Today, chlorpyrifos is still being used in agriculture as the EPA refuses to ban of its use in agriculture.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt believes chlorpyrifos is crucial to US agriculture "to ensure an abundant and affordable food supply for this world". Instead, why not turn to alternatives that are less toxic and non-harmful to children's health? Health risks of chlorpyrifos have been raised for decades and is time for us to take action!
Sign this petition if you believe the EPA should ban chlorpyrifos from affecting our food supply and harming children and our society.
Next Steps
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The first step to making a difference and stopping the rise of chlorpyrifos is by gaining awareness. What purpose will activism serve if we do not rally as one unified and knowledgeable entity against this insecticide use?
Easy ways to achieve awareness can just be researching on the internet and reading sites like the chlorpyrifos section of the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC). NPIC’s section can be found here: NPIC
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Step two would be to join active protesting groups as this is one of the only effective forms of resistance against chlorpyrifos. Finding groups in your area who are fighting against pesticide use and chlorpyrifos and reaching out to them would allow you to participate more physically in the resistance process.
This idea applies to farmers as well. Traveling to certain spots and voicing one’s opinions will truly cause officials in favor of chlorpyrifos to re-evaluate their stances.
Groups like the Salinas Valley and Sacramento activists definitely left impressions of dissatisfaction and a determination to end the period of human degradation that chlorpyrifos has been causing. Read more about these two stories here: Montereyherald &
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Our government is already undergoing registration review for these chlorpyrifos. By the completion of the review, normal citizens and the public in general will be able to offer their perspectives and viewpoints after the revised Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) and Proposed Interim Decision (PID) are released. Thus, any ordinary person can significantly impact the final Interim Decision if there is majority opinion on certain ideas. More information on this topic here: EPA
If you truly feel inspired by our website and wish to start actively supporting the cause against chlorpyrifos uses, sign our petition here on Change.org.