August 22, 2017

California Targets Pesticide Chlorpyrifos

Last week, the California Environmental Protection Agency announced that both the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment are pursuing health protections on chlorpyrifos.

DPR believes chlorpyrifos may pose a public health risk as a toxic air contaminant based on its assessment of the latest studies in the scientific community. As indicated in the updated draft risk assessment that DPR released last week, this new finding has not been peer reviewed and must go through a public comment period and be independently evaluated by other scientists. This review process, which may ultimately lead to more restrictions on use, is expected to conclude in December 2018.

Chlorpyrifos is a critical part of pest management programs for farmers. It is used on more than 800,000 acres and more than 60 crops including tree nuts, vegetables, grapes, citrus, cotton and alfalfa. Collectively, these crops account for $23 billion in production value for California. Western Growers will continue to advocate that any new control measures allow for the safe and continued use of this critical crop protection tool.

For more information, contact Matthew Allen at (916) 446-1435.