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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Food Safety,Our Blog on August 20, 2024
EPA Emergency Order issued for the first time in 40 years!
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an emergency order that suspends all registrations of the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA or Dacthal) on August 6, 2024.
Effective immediately!
The EPA has the authority to issue Emergency Orders for extreme health risks. It is granted under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIRA).
Based on data the agency has been working to acquire for over 10 years to assess the potential effects of this pesticide, the EPA Emergency Order was warranted.
In a press release, Assistant to the Administration for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Michal Freedhoff states that “DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately.”
“It’s the 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. That’s why for the first time in almost 40 years, EPA is using its emergency suspension authority to stop the use of a pesticide,” said Freedhoff.
Effective immediately, all registrations of Dacthal are suspended.
DCPA is a pesticide registered for weed control. Both for use in agricultural and non-agricultural settings. It is a pre-emergent herbicide used to control grasses and weeds on ornamental turf and plants.
It’s primary use is on crops like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, field beans, strawberries, and onions.
Other applications of DCPA include weed control on recreational turfs, such as golf courses and athletic fields.
This move has garnered great support.
Farmworkers experience the most exposure risk. Congressman Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07) supports this action, indicating that this is a great first step to ensure all farmworkers are given the workers rights they deserve. “Farmworkers face burdensome conditions in the fields and often face exposure to harmful pesticides while working to feed our nation. I applaud the emergency action by the EPA which prioritizes farmworker health and safety, especially for pregnant women, by suspending this harmful chemical from our agricultural systems.
Mily Treviño Sauceda, Executive Director of Alianza Nacional de Campensinas, a National Farmworkers Women’s Alliance is pleased with the historic decision. “As an organization led by farmworker women, we know intimately the harm that pesticides, including dimethyl tetracloroterephthalate (DCPA or Dacthal), can inflict on our bodies and communities. This emergency decision is a great first step that we hope will be in a series of others that are based on listening to farmworkers, protecting our reproductive health, and safeguarding our families.”
This was not a snap decision. In fact, the agency has been moving toward this EPA Emergency Order for a decade.
This chemical was placed on the agency’s radar when it came up for the required registered pesticides review. This is a routine, scheduled activity performed every 15 years. Aimed to ensure that, given new information, the product “causes no unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment.”
The EPA began investigating the chemical in 2013. A “Data Call-In (DCI)” was requested of AMVAC Chemical Corporation, the sole manufacturer of DCPA. This request for data required more than 20 studies to support the existing registration of the chemical.
One of the requirements was to include “a comprehensive study of the effects of DCPA on thyroid development and function in adults an in developing young before and after birth.” This particular request was given a due date of 2016.
AMVAC submitted some responses to the EPA between 2013 and 2021. However the agency considered them “insufficient to address the DCI.”
Additionally, the specifically requested thyroid study, along with other requested studies were not submitted at all.
In April 2022, the EPA issued a Notice of Intent to suspend the DCPA-technical grade product. A rarely used show of force. This would suspend the use of the product in end-use products.
A reasonable action following nearly 10 years of evading data requests.
The required thyroid study was submitted in August 2022, however the EPA still suspended the registration due to “continued failure to submit other outstanding data.” This suspension took place on August 22, 2023 but was lifted in November 2023 when all required data was presented, though most DCPA use on turf was voluntarily cancelled by the company in December 2023.
However, the product remained on the market for other uses.
The EPA released findings of its risk assessment for both occupational and residential exposure to products containing DCPA in May 2023.
Based on the thyroid study submitted by AMVAC, the agency found serious risks. Even with the use of personal protective equipment and engineering controls.
This analysis uncovered serious concerns to unborn babies of pregnant individuals. In fact, pregnant people handling DCPA products could be subjected to exposures four to 20 times greater than safe limits for unborn babies.
There is even a risk for pregnant individuals entering or working in areas where DCPA has already been applied.
The current product labeling indicating it is safe to enter treated fields just 12 hours after application. However, evidence suggests that unsafe levels of DCPA persist for 25 days or more.
This, combined with potential for spray drift to areas beyond the application area, is a huge concern.
For people living in areas near where DCPA is used, their home environment could be potentially contaminated. For nearly a month after every application!
The EPA issued a public warning in April 2024. This warning presented information on the significant health risks to unborn babies and pregnant individuals exposed to DCPA.
AMVAC was informed March 27, 2024 that the agency was pursuing regulatory options. uUp to and including cancelling the pesticide or seeking an emergency suspension within the next 90 days.
While AMVAC has attempted to address concerns presented by the EPA, the agency has determined that there are “no practical mitigation measures that can be put in place to allow DCPA’s continued use.”
An Emergency Order effective immediately (August 6, 2024) was issued instead of following the normal cancellation process due to “imminent hazard to unborn babies.”
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “EPA Emergency Order Issued, First Time in 40 Years!,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe. While The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)