DELAY, DELAY … by the PMRA
PMRA delays deciding on chlorpyrifos, then delays ban for 3 years. Safe Food Matters and Prevent Cancer Now bring Court challenge.
A Health Canada agency is delaying the cancellation of the dangerous chemical, thereby exposing Canadians to continued harm. Chlorpyrifos is a hazardous neurotoxic pesticide, known for permanently damaging the brains of developing children.
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) didn’t cancel the chemical back in 2007 when it learned of the dangerous health risks, and it issued a cancellation statement only in May, 2021 – which allows continued “phase-out” use for another 3 years. The sales of this pesticide are consistently in the top 10 in Canada, so the quantities are significant.
Between 2007 and 2017, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published several human health risk assessments, linking chlorpyrifos to adverse neurodevelopmental effects. The PMRA said it would follow the EPA documents “in detail” and reassess them in the Canadian context. …Read More
Notice of Objection: Chlorpyrifos (Environment)
Notice of Objection Chlorpyrifos (Environment)
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (“PMRA”) of Health Canada recently re-registered chlorpyrifos for spraying on mosquitos, in buildings, around structures, on trees (mountain pines and elm) and on outdoor and greenhouse ornamental plants. This chemical is highly neurotoxic, banned in Europe, and has been proposed for addition to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
How did PMRA do this? By not conducting a valid evaluation of the chemical. It separated out the assessment of risks to the environment from the risks to human health, which is not a justified approach. Then in its environmental risk assessment, it did not assess the extent of exposure in terms of concentrations in the environment as it was required to do. It used inaccurate information and faulty assumptions, it did not examine certain environmental harms, it made completely wrong extrapolations of the science from one species …Read More
