EPA officially cancels products containing pesticide pulled from the market in August

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday announced the formal cancellation of a pesticide linked to fetal damage three months after issuing an emergency order to pull it from the market.

The EPA, invoking the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), canceled all products containing the pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA).

The agency cited numerous studies linking exposure of expectant mothers to the pesticide to interference in fetal thyroid hormone levels, which can lead to brain development problems, low birth weight and potentially permanent impacts on motor skills.

“With the final cancellation of DCPA, we’re taking a definitive step to protect pregnant women and their unborn babies,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “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.”

The August decision to pull the pesticide marked the EPA’s first such move in four decades, which Freedhoff said was because DCPA is “so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately.”

DCPA is typically used in agricultural settings to kill weeds that affect crops like onions, cabbage and broccoli. Before that, in April 2022, the agency had issued a Notice of Intent to Suspend the technical-grade product used to manufacture DCPA, citing insufficient scientific data from AMVAC Chemical Corporation, the only company that manufactures it.

In April, the agency issued a warning about fetal health risks associated with DCPA exposure.

AMVAC informed the EPA it would voluntarily cancel all products containing the pesticide after the August emergency order, but the final EPA decision will bar any further distribution or sale of products containing it as well as the use of existing stocks of DCPA products.