EPA issues emergency order to ban a common pesticide that’s harmful to fetuses

For the first time in 40 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken emergency action to suspend the use of a pesticide found to cause irreversible damage to fetuses. The pesticide, named dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, DCPA, or Dacthal, has been linked to low birth weight babies who eventually may have a decreased IQ and impaired brain development or motor skills.

It’s a common weedkiller used on crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions. 

“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately,” Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a statement Tuesday. “It’s 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.”

The EPA issued the emergency order after the pesticide’s sole manufacturer, AMVAC Chemical Corporation, failed to provide sufficient data on DCPA and its health risks, according to the statement.

In 2023, the EPA released an assessment of the pesticide and concluded it was linked to health risks, especially for pregnant women, even when people exposed to it were using personal protective equipment. At the time, the EPA said pregnant women may have been exposed to levels of DCPA up to 20 times greater than what they estimate is safe for fetuses.

“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. We must continue to build on this progress and ensure all farmworkers are given the protection, worker’s rights, and overtime pay they deserve,” said Congressman Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07) in the official statement released Tuesday.

Jeannie Economos, coordinator of the pesticide safety and environmental health program at the Farmworker Association of Florida, tells The Washington Post the emergency order came too late for workers who have been exposed to DCPA for decades.

“It shouldn’t have taken this long, but we are glad that they did it finally,” she said. “How many people got sick in the meantime? How many babies were born with low birth weight? We don’t know.”

Economos said she hopes the EPA will ban more widely used, harmful pesticides and that the industry will move away from toxic agrochemicals.

“We cannot keep going this way because we’re hurting farmworkers, wildlife, the planet and ourselves.”