Attorney General Bonta Advocates to Fully Revoke Harmful Pesticide from Food Crops

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OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a multistate coalition of nine attorneys general in submitting a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding EPA’s proposal to ban residue from the pesticide chlorpyrifos on only some common food crops, despite its known neurodevelopmental harms to children. EPA’s proposal would ban chlorpyrifos residue on 70 food crops, while allowing it on 11 others, specifically alfalfa, apple, asparagus, tart cherry, citrus, cotton, peach, soybean, strawberry, sugar beet, and spring and winter wheat. The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has banned the application of chlorpyrifos on all food crops in California since late 2020. However, chlorpyrifos residues threaten Californians’ health through certain imported foods.

“The facts are clear: chlorpyrifos exposure poses a grave danger to a child’s health. This pesticide has no place in our food systems,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We cannot ignore the health implications and urge the EPA to fully eliminate this harmful pesticide.”