September 9, 2017

EPA listened to Agriculture Department, not scientists, in decision not to ban dangerous pesticide

https://thinkprogress.org/epa-chlorpyrifos-internal-docs-041bb466c418/
"After rejecting a ban on chlorpyrifos, a widely-used insecticide that acts by paralyzing the nervous system of insects, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt told a Senate panel the decision was “based on the USDA communication to the EPA that the scientific basis that was being used by the agency was very questionable.” The new documents show that USDA officials attended meetings between the EPA and chemical agribusiness executives and strongly pushed for the EPA to set aside other scientific evidence of the pesticide’s danger to human health."