Health

EPA Eyes Widely-Used Pesticide

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:40 AM EST / CBS

A pesticide used on everything from lawns and crops to pet collars and bug spray is under heavy scrutiny by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is expected to announce next week its decision on use of the chemical.

CBS News Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin reports Dow AgroSciences, the only American manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, stands behind the safety of the products containing the chemical "for all their labeled uses."

Chlorpyrifos is better known by the brand names Dursban and Lorsban and is found in more than 800 consumer products.

The expected announcement on chlorpyrifos is a reaction to research showing that the chemical can cause brain damage to fetal rats whose mothers were exposed to the substance.

At issue is the question of how much exposure to chlorpyrifos is too much.

Environmental health expert Dr. Philip Landrigan, one of a group of scientists who is reportedly calling on the EPA to restrict the use of chlorpyrifos, says its immediate damage is hard to measure but could be particularly dangerous for children.

"This is a lot like low-level lead poisoning: it needs to be tested. Children appear to be normal, it's only when you test them that you find they're lacking five or 10 points of IQ," explains Landrigan, in an interview with CBS News.

There are other choices when it comes to ways to kill the bugs that gardeners generally regard as the enemy. "Everything we sell with Dursban has an alternative we could use," says Steve Echters, who's been in the lawn care and gardening business for 30 years. "It may not be quite as effective but there is an alternative."

According to the EPA, chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used pesticides, with between 20 million and 24 million tons applied annually.

The pesticide is an organophosphate compound, a class of chemical which some environmentalists, including the Environmental Working Group, want banned.

"The problem is that the same way it kills insects, it can interfere with human beings' nervous systems and their brain function," says Erik Olson, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, in an interview with CBS News.

Chlorpyrifos has been used on our food and lawns for some 30 years.