The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized its cancellation of Dacthal, just months after it issued a historic suspension to halt the use and sales of the pesticide.
Dacthal, also known as DCPA, has been connected to adverse health effects in unborn babies when pregnant mothers are exposed to it.
“With the final cancellation of DCPA, we’re taking a definitive step to protect pregnant women and their unborn babies,” Michal Freedhoff, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in a statement.
“The science showing the potential for irreversible harm to unborn babies’ developing brains, in addition to other lifelong consequences from exposure, demands decisive action to remove this dangerous chemical from the marketplace,” said Freedhoff.
Lawyers have begun to investigate potential Dacthal lawsuits involving those who were exposed to the pesticide. There are concerns about its impact on thyroid hormone levels in unborn infants, which is linked to impaired motor skills, decreased IQ and other worrying impacts.
The pesticide has historically been used on crops like broccoli, cabbage and onions, as well as on turf for golf courses and athletic fields.
Questions Surrounding Dacthal Health Effects Go Back Years
The EPA’s suspension and now cancellation of Dacthal were significant measures taken in response to a yearslong back and forth between the agency and AMVAC, Dacthal’s manufacturer.
In 2013, the EPA requested studies from AMVAC to support Dacthal’s continued registration, including a study on thyroid development.
But it would be years before the EPA got the information it required, with AMVAC sending in multiple studies that never adequately addressed the data the EPA had been looking for.
AMVAC eventually submitted the necessary data nearly a decade after the initial request, kicking off actions by the EPA that eventually resulted in its first emergency suspension in nearly 40 years.
“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately,” Freedhoff said in a statement at the time of the suspension. “It’s EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems.”
AMVAC’s parent company American Vanguard voluntarily requested cancellation of its Dacthal products after the emergency order was issued, meaning that the pesticide would no longer be used.
Despite that move, which was made in reaction to the EPA’s suspension, American Vanguard has continued to push back on the EPA’s decision to suspend the pesticide.
“It is important to note that EPA’s findings are based upon the test results of a single, relatively new study that the Company had provided to the agency,” American Vanguard said in a statement.
American Vanguard said that it is talking with the EPA about completing new studies that could possibly alleviate some of the health risks that led to the suspension.
Growing Number of Weed Killers, Pesticides Tied to Health Concerns
Dacthal is the latest of several weed killers and pesticides that have been connected to adverse health effects.
The popular weed killer Roundup is facing significant litigation over its possible connections to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. There are more than 4,000 active Roundup lawsuits pending in multidistrict litigation against its manufacturers, who were ordered to pay $78 million to a plaintiff just last month.
There are also thousands of pending lawsuits against paraquat, a highly toxic pesticide linked to the development of Parkinson’s disease. Earlier this month, 47 members of Congress signed a letter to the EPA asking for paraquat to be banned.