The USA lags behind other agricultural nations in banning harmful pesticides

Abstract

Background The United States of America (USA), European Union (EU), Brazil and China are four of the largest agricultural producers and users of agricultural pesticides in the world. Comparing the inclination and ability of different regulatory agencies to ban or eliminate pesticides that have the most potential for harm to humans and the environment can provide a glimpse into the effectiveness of each nation’s pesticide regulatory laws and oversight. Methods The approval status of more than 500 agricultural pesticides was identified in the USA, EU, Brazil and China and compared between nations. The amount of pesticides that were used in the USA and banned in these other nations was compiled and linear regression was used to identify trends in use. Results There are 72, 17, and 11 pesticides approved for outdoor agricultural applications in the USA that are banned or in the process of complete phase out in the EU, Brazil, and China, respectively. Of the pesticides used in USA agriculture in 2016, 322 million pounds were of pesticides banned in the EU, 26 million pounds were of pesticides banned in Brazil and 40 million pounds were of pesticides banned in China. Pesticides banned in the EU account for more than a quarter of all agricultural pesticide use in the USA. The majority of pesticides banned in at least two of these three nations have not appreciably decreased in the USA over the last 25 years and almost all have stayed constant or increased over the last 10 years. Conclusions Many pesticides still widely used in the USA, at the level of tens to hundreds of millions of pounds annually, have been banned or are being phased out in the EU, China and Brazil. Of the pesticides banned in at least two of these nations, many have been implicated in acute pesticide poisonings in the USA and some are further restricted by individual states. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has all but abandoned its use of non-voluntary cancellations in recent years, making pesticide cancellation in the USA largely an exercise that requires consent by the regulated industry. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12940-019-0488-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Relationship between Organophosphate and Pyrethroid Insecticides in Blood and Their Metabolites in Urine: A Pilot Study

“…A similar comparison result was made in our previous work [38], demonstrating relatively low levels of chlorpyrifos in the dust of U.S. houses compared to our Taiwanese data. As chlorpyrifos and terbufos have been banned for domestic use respectively in the U.S. and in China and European Union [41], exposure to OPs should be of concern in Taiwan.…”

The association between pesticide use and cutaneous melanoma: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…There are still many differences among EU, the United States and developing countries, in the use of pesticides . Many pesticides that have been banned or are being phased out in the EU, China and Brazil are still in large use in the United States.…”

“…There are still many differences among EU, the United States and developing countries, in the use of pesticides. 65 Many pesticides that have been banned or are being phased out in the EU, China and Brazil are still in large use in the United States. Currently, the strictly EU regulation is the most comprehensive and protective (information available from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX: 32009R1107).…”

Application of the Food Quality Protection Act children’s health safety factor in the U.S. EPA pesticide risk assessments

“…For the four pyrethroid insecticides analyzed in this study (bifenthrin, cypermethrin, fenpropathrin, permethrin), the FQPA factor determination is based on a policy document released in July 2019, which stated that "the total FQPA safety factor for pyrethroids can be reduced to 1X for all populations" [29]. For the fungicide metalaxyl, the EPA did not assess a chronic dietary exposure In light of the recent report by Donley on the differences in pesticide oversight in the U.S. and other countries [1], it is notable that the three pesticides with a 10X FQPA safety factor for chronic dietary exposures have use restrictions in the European Union and are classified as "not approved" in the EU pesticide database as of January 2020 [73]. In animal studies, chlorpropham was associated with an increase in Leydig cell tumors in the testes of male rats and the potential for endocrine disruption [74,75].…”

“…A recent study published in Environmental Health concluded that the U.S. has lagged behind other agricultural nations in banning harmful pesticides and suggested that pesticide bans can catalyze the transition to safer alternatives [1]. A similarly important question is whether, in the current practice of pesticide registrations in the U.S., all measures are taken to protect the public, especially infants and children, from the potentially harmful effects of pesticides.…”