Chlorpyrifos Ban Proposed (by Jean-Marie Kauth)

“It is with horribly mixed feelings that I hail the possible end of chlorpyrifos, the pesticide that killed my beloved daughter Katherine. Of course it is good that we will not be poisoning our children in this one particular way in the future. But saying ‘hurrah, we are poisoning fewer children’ feels a lot like a celebration of the damning question, ‘Have you stopped beating your wife?’ ‘Have we stopped poisoning our children?’ The answer is no. Chlorpyrifos is a horrible chemical, both acutely toxic, as I know first-hand from my own exposures, and a chronic cause of cancer, ADHD, lower IQs, birth defects, autism, and the list goes on…

“So if, as many think, the ban will hold, there has been a victory for right today, but we are still losing the war for our children’s health. Please – keep those letters to the EPA and congressional representatives coming. Comments should open soon at this web address, and the industry hacks will be posting for sure. It’s possible that without that support, industry will still win this battle. Keep educating neighbors and friends. Keep protecting your own children and asking the most important questions. Don’t be complacent. Don’t be fatalistic. And please, don’t believe the lies of the chemical companies. Thank you.”

Jean-Marie Kauth is a professor at Benedictine University. She has done extensive research on the aforementioned issue. For this complete report, please click here.