The U.S. is still using many pesticides that are banned in other countries
Most phased-out chemicals in the nation are discontinued by industry, not the EPA
Compared with other global agricultural powerhouses, the United States has lax restrictions on potentially harmful pesticides, a study suggests.
An analysis of agricultural pesticide regulations reveals that the United States widely uses several chemicals that are banned or being phased out in the European Union, Brazil and China — three of the world’s other leading pesticide users.
What’s more, most agricultural pesticides phased out in the United States are discontinued by the pesticide industry, rather than banned by the Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental health researcher Nathan Donley with the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group in Portland, Ore., reports these findings online June 7 in Environmental Health.