The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it will allow chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide that’s been linked to learning disabilities in children, to remain on the market for agricultural use.
The decision is a major win for the chemical and agricultural industries and a blow to environmental groups that have fought for years to force the agency to ban the chemical. In its final order, the EPA said petitioners’ claims that chlorpyrifos poses a risk to brain development “are not supported by valid, complete, and reliable evidence.”
An EPA spokesman said the agency will continue to assess the safety of chlorpyrifos through 2022.
