For the first time in 40 years, the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency suspension of a pesticide. The EPA found Dacthal, also known as DCPA, can significantly affect the health of unborn babies.
In a press release, the federal agency said it had decided on the historic ban “because unborn babies whose pregnant mothers are exposed to DCPA, sometimes without even knowing the exposure has occurred, could experience changes to fetal thyroid hormone levels, and these changes are generally linked to low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ, and impaired motor skills later in life, some of which may be irreversible.”
In a statement, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff said the weed killer is “so dangerous it needs to be removed from the market immediately.”
“It’s EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems,” Freedhoff added.
Director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture Lloyd Knight said the pesticide does not appear to be very common.
“The products will immediately be unregistered so they're not going to be allowed to use. They're prohibited from distribution with the exception of an existing stock return to the manufacturer,” he said.
Knight said there are thousands of registered pesticides in use in Idaho and prohibiting this one should not cause disruption to crops.
“This is certainly going to be a product that's not available, but I would imagine that there are other products available to come in behind it,” Knight said.
The EPA found that crops registered unsafe levels of the pesticide 25 days after application. First introduced in 1958, Dacthal has been primarily used in agriculture, on broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onion crops.
