Dow And Other Chemical Companies Pushing Trump To Shelve EPA Risk Study
Dow and two other chemical companies are pushing to have a pesticide study by the EPA squashed. The study reportedly reveals organophosphate pesticides used by the chemical companies are dangerous to animals.
The chemical pesticides researched in the environmental study include chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion. This group of organophosphate pesticides harm approximately 1,800 endangered or threatened species, according to the EPA risk study.
Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt overturned the ban on chlorpyrifos use on plants intended for human consumption enacted during former President Barack Obama’s administration last month. The scientific researchers maintain they have linked exposure to the chemical pesticides with brain growth health problems in children.
Dow and other chemical companies pushing for the risk study to be shelved, vehemently disagree with the findings. Pruitt said the EPA will not “prejudge” any possible decisions about rule changes and regulations related to the chemical pesticide. The Environmental Protection Agency head also stated he and his team are working to “restore regulatory sanity to EPA’s work.”
#profitbeforepeople Dow Chemical tries to kill organophosphate risk study https://t.co/arCvFrxZG5
— Susan Michaelis (@SusanMichaelis1) April 21, 2017
“We have had no meetings with Dow on this topic and we are reviewing petitions as they come in, giving careful consideration to sound science and good policymaking,” EPA spokesman J.P. Freire told the press. “The administrator is committed to listening to stakeholders affected by EPA’s regulations, while also reviewing past decisions.”
The organophosphate pesticides risk study of chlorpyrifos, diazinon, and malathion took place over a four year period and included tens of thousands of pages of research.
The Environmental Protection Agency risk study said chlorpyrifos is “likely to adversely affect” a grand total of 1,788 of the 1,835 endangered and threatened plants and animals which were study as a part of the biological risk assessment. Some of the animals which could be harmed by the chemical pesticides reportedly include species of birds, fish, frogs, and mammals on the critically endangered species list. The EPA risk study came up with similar results when testing both malathion and diazinon.
The chemical companies are claiming the federal research the risk study was based upon is flawed. The group wants the Trump administration to “set aside” the results of the report to prevent new regulations from being inked that would restrict the use of the possibly dangerous chemical pesticides. Dow AgroSciences claims the federal researchers neglected to use the best available science when compiling their risk study.
Dow Chemical Company CEO Andrew Liveris has a seat on President Donald Trump’s manufacturing council. The presence of Liveris on the council rapidly turned the organophosphate pesticides risk study debate into a political issue. Last week Dow’s attorney, and lawyers from two other chemical companies, requested the EPA and related agencies, stop the release of the highly controversial study, MSN reported.
Pesticide maker, Dow Chemical, asks administration to ignore organophosphate risk study. https://t.co/ndeIz7kqqa
— altEPA (@altUSEPA) April 20, 2017
Dow Chemical Company has now tasked its own scientists with compiling a comprehensive rebuttal report to the organophosphates pesticides risk study by the EPA, Business Insider reported. The government study maintains even a small exposure to the chemical pesticides is dangerous.
“Dow AgroSciences is committed to the production and marketing of products that will help American farmers feed the world, and do so with full respect for human health and the environment, including endangered and threatened species,” a media statement from the company read. “These letters, and the detailed scientific analyses that support them, demonstrate that commitment.”
FMC Corporation sells chemical pesticides that contain malathion. The company claims the EPA risk study should be not released to the public to allow time for the “best available” scientific data to be compiled and used to evaluate the organophosphate pesticides report by the EPA. The chemical company also claimed malathion is a “critical tool” used in the agriculture industry to protect crops from pests.
[Featured Image by JinningLi/Shutterstock]
