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    One of the most prominent personal injury law firms in the tri-state region, the Locks Law Firm is steadfastly committed to protecting the rights of seriously injured victims.

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    Medical malpractice is any act by a health care provider that deviates from accepted standards of medical care and results in the personal injury, disability, or wrongful death of a patient. Nursing home abuse or negligence can take many forms. It can include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, neglect, negligent care, and even financial exploitation.

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Locks Law Firm

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Locks Law Firm

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Blog

Dacthal Pesticide Ban: EPA Falls Short Again, Inaction Fails to Protect the Unborn 

Locks Law Firm is accepting birth defect cases on behalf of children suffering from low birth weight, decreased IQ, and impaired brain development and motor skills due to exposure to the herbicide Dacthal (“DCPA” or “dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate”).

The most at-risk individuals are the children of farmworkers whose pregnant mothers worked around crops treated with DCPA, such as bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprout, cabbage, kale, and onions. The children of pregnant mothers who spent time around areas where DCPA was applied, including lawns, fields, or artificial turf, are also at risk.

On August 6, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced an emergency ban on DCPA, effective immediately, suspending its use or sale for any purpose. EPA found that unborn children of pregnant mothers exposed to DCPA can develop significant changes to fetal thyroid hormone levels resulting in irreversible birth defects and developmental disorders, such as low birth weight, decreased IQ, and impaired brain development and motor skills.

“DCPA exposure represents a serious risk to pregnant workers and their children, so it’s imperative that we warn people about those risks now,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “We’re committed to taking action to protect the health of children, workers, and others who are exposed to DCPA.”

According to EPA, exposure to DCPA can occur long after its initial application, and the risks are much greater than previously thought. DCPA product labels have stated that entry into a field treated with DCPA should be restricted for 12 hours, but new evidence shows that the DCPA levels in treated fields remain unsafe for up to 25 days or more. EPA also estimates that some pregnant individuals handling DCPA products could be subjected to exposures 4 to 20 times greater than what current DCPA product label instructions indicate is considered safe.

EPA is further considering health risks to individuals who did not even enter DCPA treated areas.

Spray drifts from the use of DCPA–whereby droplets of the herbicide are carried through the air– may expose unborn children and pregnant individuals who live close to agricultural fields. In a 2009 study, investigators found traces of DCPA inside homes located over 1.5 miles from the nearest agricultural field. A 2019 study found more than 50 percent of adolescent girls living in agricultural communities in the Salinas Valley, CA had been exposed to DCPA, and the odds of detecting DCPA were 3.1 times greater if the study participant lived near a field. 

DCPA has been used in the United States since the late 1950s. However, EPA only first became aware of its serious potential health risks in 1995, when a study showed that certain animals developed thyroid tumors after exposure. In 2009, DCPA was banned in the European Union (“EU”), but continued to be used in the United States despite growing concerns.

This is the first time in over 40 years that EPA has used its emergency authority to immediately stop the use of a pesticide. But, the move is long overdue. 11 years ago, the agency first ordered AMVAC Chemical Corporation (“AMVAC”)–the sole manufacturer of DCPA–to turn over its relevant health hazard information, including data about the toxic effect of DCPA on fetal thyroid hormones.

The undue delay in protecting unborn children from DCPA may be the result of possible negligence by AMVAC, but also inherent flaws in the ability or inclination of EPA to ban pesticides that are harmful to humans or the environment. Evidence produced in pesticide litigations, such as the RoundUp litigation involving glyphosate, has shown that EPA oftentimes bases its regulatory decisions on science developed by the pesticide manufacturers; slows the release of toxicology studies; and cherry-picks or buries safety data.  As a result, many pesticides still widely used in the United States have already been banned or are in the process of being phased out by other major agricultural producers, like the EU, Brazil, or China.  As of 2019, over a quarter of all U.S. agricultural pesticide use was from pesticides prohibited in the EU.

In addition to exposing humans to harm, there is evidence that lax enforcement of harmful pesticides in the United States will also negatively impact trade and lead to the loss of American exports, jobs, and money. For example, the pesticide Paraquat is highly toxic, banned in the EU, Brazil, and China, but continues to be used in the United States based on an understanding between EPA and chemical companies that it can still be used safely.  In 2020, Thailand, a major importer of American wheat and soybeans, implemented a zero-tolerance policy for Paraquat residue on food imports, resulting in an estimated $700 million dollar export loss for Americans.

We all stand to lose if we do not act to minimize or eliminate the health risks of pesticides.

Locks Law Firm is investigating cases involving individuals who have lived around or worked in areas treated with DCPA and whose children were born with birth defects or developmental disorders. If you believe you or someone you know may have been affected by DCPA, contact us.

Sources

EPA Issues Emergency Order to Stop Use of Pesticide Dacthal to Address Serious Health Risk, United States Enivornmental Protection Agency (Aug. 6, 2024), https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-issues-emergency-order-stop-use-pesticide-dacthal-address-serious-health-risk-4

Pesticides; Emergency Order Suspending the Registrations of All Pesticide Products Containing Dimethyl Tetrachloroterephthalate (DCPA), 89 Fed. Reg. 64445-64458 (Aug. 7, 2024), https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/08/07/2024-17431/pesticides-emergency-order-suspending-the-registrations-of-all-pesticide-products-containing

Donley N, The USA lags behind other agricultural nations in banning harmful pesticides. Environ Health. 2019 Jun 7;18(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s12940-019-0488-0. PMID: 31170989; PMCID: PMC6555703.

Harley KG, Parra KL, Camacho J, Bradman A, Nolan JES, Lessard C, Anderson KA, Poutasse CM, Scott RP, Lazaro G, Cardoso E, Gallardo D, Gunier RB. Determinants of pesticide concentrations in silicone wristbands worn by Latina adolescent girls in a California farmworker community: The COSECHA youth participatory action study. Sci Total Environ. 2019 Feb 20;652:1022-1029. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.276. Epub 2018 Oct 23. PMID: 30380470; PMCID: PMC6309742.

Harnly ME, Bradman A, Nishioka M, McKone TE, Smith D, McLaughlin R, Kavanagh-Baird G, Castorina R, Eskenazi B, Pesticides in dust from homes in an agricultural area. Environ Sci Technol. 2009 Dec 1;43(23):8767-74. doi: 10.1021/es9020958. PMID: 19943644.

Lerner, Sharon, The Department of Yes, How Pesticide Companies Corrupted the EPA and Poisoned America, The Intercept (June 30, 2021), https://theintercept.com/2021/06/30/epa-pesticides-exposure-opp/

Taylor L, Rinde, E, Carcinogenicity Peer Review of DCPA (Dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate), United States Environmental Protection Agency (Feb. 10, 1995), https://archive.epa.gov/pesticides/chemicalsearch/chemical/foia/web/pdf/078701/078701-1995-02-10a.pdf

Thai FDA Announced Ban of Paraquat and Chlorpyrifos on Imported Food Products, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Voluntary Report (Nov. 3, 2020), https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Thai%20FDA%20Announced%20Ban%20of%20Paraquat%20and%20Chlorpyrifos%20on%20Imported%20Food%20Products_Bangkok_Thailand_11-03-2020

Thailand 2020 Export Highlights, USDA Foreign Agricultural Services, https://fas.usda.gov/thailand-2020-export-highlights#:~:text=In%202020%2C%20Thailand%20was%20the,and%20China%20with%2013%20percent.

Anthony P. Mastroianni

Anthony P. Mastroianni

Associate
Manhattan Office
Anthony Mastroianni is an attorney in the Manhattan office of the Locks Law Firm and focuses his practice on representing individuals diagnosed with cancer as a result of occupational exposure to toxins, including benzene and asbestos.
August 20, 2024 Anthony P. Mastroianni

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