SUPPORT THE PROTECT AMERICA’S CHILDREN FROM TOXIC PESTICIDES ACT: The most significant legislation in nearly a quarter century, to protect the nation against toxic pesticides

SUPPORT THE PROTECT AMERICA’S CHILDREN FROM TOXIC PESTICIDES ACT: The most significant legislation in nearly a quarter century, to protect the nation against toxic pesticides

Urge your U.S. Senators and Representatives to co-sponsor and pass the Protect America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA), originally introduced by Senator Tom Udall and Representative Joe Neguse in 2020. The bill was re-introduced by Senator Corey Booker in the Senate and sponsored by Jim McGovern in the House in 2023.

According to a press release by Booker’s office:

“Each year, the United States uses over a billion pounds of pesticides — nearly a fifth of worldwide use. Once they’re approved, pesticides often remain on the market for decades, even when scientific evidence overwhelmingly shows a pesticide is causing harm to people or the environment. In 2017 and 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency registered more than 100 pesticides containing ingredients widely considered to be dangerous.

Approximately one-third of annual U.S. pesticide use — over 300 million pounds from 85 different pesticides — comes from pesticides that are banned in the European Union. The pesticide regulation statute, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (FIFRA), contains many loopholes that put the interests of the pesticide industry above the health and safety of people and our environment.”

“Pesticide hazards haunt farm workers, especially those that are parents. No parent should worry that hugging their children after a long day of work could expose them to brain-harming chemicals. No pregnant worker should have to wonder what the effects will be on a developing baby. Just living in an agricultural community places farm worker families at the front lines of exposure to dangerous nerve agents. This silent risk extends to every consumer who could unknowingly put food with toxic residue on their family’s table,” said Teresa Romero, President of the United Farm Workers of America.

Some highlights of PACTPA are:

BAN some of the most damaging pesticides:

Organophosphate insecticides (including chlorpyrifos), designed to target the neurological system and have been linked to neurodevelopmental damage in children[1];
Neonicotinoid insecticides, which have contributed to pollinator collapse around the world (the European Union and Canada have significantly restricted or banned their use to protect pollinators and other wildlife) and have recently been shown to cause developmental defects, heart deformations, and muscle tremors in unborn children[2];
Paraquat herbicide, which is one of the most acutely toxic herbicides in the world. According to the EPA, just “one sip can kill.”[3] Science has shown that chronic exposure to paraquat increases risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 200% to 600%.[4] It is already banned in 32 countries, including the EU.
72 pesticides would be restricted immediately.

RESTORE balance to protect ordinary citizens by:

Creating a petition process to enable individual citizens to petition the EPA to identify dangerous pesticides so that the EPA would no longer be able to indefinitely allow dangerous pesticides to remain on the market;
Closing dangerous loopholes that have allowed the EPA to issue emergency exemptions and conditional registrations to use pesticides before they have gone through full health and safety review by the agency;
Enabling local communities to enact protective legislation and other policies without being vetoed or preempted by state law;
Suspending the use of pesticides deemed unsafe by the EU or Canada until they are thoroughly reviewed by the EPA.

Provide protections for frontline communities that bear the burden of pesticide exposure by:

Requiring employers of farmworkers to report all pesticide-caused injuries to the EPA, with strong penalties for failure to report injuries or retaliating against workers;
Directing the EPA to review pesticide injury reports and work with the pesticide manufacturers to develop better labeling to prevent future injury;
Requiring that all pesticide label instructions be written in Spanish and in any language spoken by more than 500 pesticide applicators.

Read the full bill HERE.

References:

1. Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphates, Paraoxonase 1, and Cognitive Development in Childhood

2. 10 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Neonics

3. Paraquat Dichloride: One Sip Can Kill

4. New Legislation Aims to Ban Herbicide Linked to Parkinson’s

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