Another example of the Trump administration being not just anti-climate change science, but anti-science period. I'd be interested in hearing how the Trump apologists justify things like this. The Obama administration had set a ban in motion. Trump apologists, can you justify this?
https://thinkprogress.org/attorneys-general-environ-groups-epa-chlorpyrifos-5fbc929899db
"“The EPA’s first job is ensuring the health and safety of New Yorkers and all Americans — especially our children. Yet the Trump administration is jeopardizing our children’s health by allowing continued exposure to this toxic pesticide at levels it has not found to be safe,” Schneiderman said in a press release. “If the Trump Administration won’t follow the law — and put our children’s well-being first — we will fight back.”
Under the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, the EPA is required to protect infants and children from harm by pesticides in food, water, and exposure to indoor pesticides. Chlorpyrifos has been found to be particularly harmful to children and fetuses and has been linked to brain damage.
The filings come on the heels of a decision by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt not to ban chlorpyrifos, a judgement made against the agency’s own scientific recommendations, which were made during the Obama administration. Under Pruitt, the agency claimed that “the science addressing neurodevelopmental effects remains unresolved.” The EPA also said continued use of the pesticide would provide “regulatory certainty” for thousands of farms reliant on the pesticide for their food crops."
"........During the Obama administration, the U.S. Ninth Circuit of Appeals ordered the EPA to respond to a study done by the agency which found a pattern of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in babies and children. In 2015, the EPA proposed a revocation of the pesticide on all food crops. But under Pruitt’s leadership, and at the urging of industry, the EPA instead chose to do further studies on the neuro-developmental impact to children."
".....Dow Agrosciences, a division of Dow Chemical that manufactures chlorpyrifos, has forcefully pushed back against the purported detrimental effects of the pesticide. In March, the company defended Pruitt’s decision to deny the ban, stating, “authorized uses of chlorpyrifos products offer wide margins of protection for human health and safety.” During the Obama administration Dow claimed EPA assessments “lacked scientific rigor.”
Despite the EPA’s claim that it needed more time to do studies, multiple studies have found a strong correlation between the insecticide, which works by attacking the nervous system of bugs, and neurodevelopmental problems among children and health issues among farmworkers. A study by researchers at Columbia University found that exposure was linked to brain function and lower IQ among children and others with still-developing bodies. For years, environmental groups have pressured the EPA to look into the correlation between pesticide usage and problems that could affect workers on an organic and cellular level. When exposed to high dosages of the pesticide, humans can suffer from respiratory paralysis or death.
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Trump and Pruitt don't give a damn about the health of the American public.