Tell Governor Brown It's Time to Lead on Chlorpyrifos

  • by: TakePart
  • recipient: CA Governor Jerry Brown
The brain-harming chemical chlorpyrifos has been under review by the state’s Department of Pesticide Regulation for more than 10 years. We think it’s time to talk to the agency’s boss.

Join TakePart and Pesticide Action Network North America in urging Governor Brown to provide needed leadership in the better protection of children’s health.

With more than 1 million pounds of chlorpyrifos used in California fields every year, countless children have been put in harm’s way as DPR drags its feet. Even at low levels, exposure to chlorpyrifos can affect the children’s developing brains and nervous systems.

Tell Governor Brown it's time for action.
To: Governor Jerry Brown

We are writing to urgently request your leadership in the protection of California’s children from the known harms of the pesticide chlorpyrifos. The Department of Pesticide Regulation began its review of chlorpyrifos in 2004 and has yet to take any substantive action to reduce use. The agency’s recent “restricted use” designation doesn’t do nearly enough to protect children’s health.

Put simply, DPR has been too slow to act. We urge you to direct it to take immediate action to decrease exposure of California’s children to this brain-harming pesticide.

We are calling for a concrete plan to phase out all uses of chlorpyrifos by 2016. A generation of children has been exposed to chlorpyrifos while DPR has spent more than 10 years conducting its human health risk assessment. The agency urgently needs to begin the process of phasing out the use of this health-harming chemical.

In the short term, we need you to step in and urge the agency to

—Prohibit hazardous and outdated application methods such as orchard blaster and aerial applications. By eliminating the most drift-prone forms of application, policy makers can reduce the likelihood of the greatest amounts of pesticide drift.

—Require protective buffer zones around sensitive sites such as schools. No-spray buffer zones also help reduce the likelihood of chlorpyrifos drifting into places where children live, learn, and play.

—Collaborate with researchers to find alternatives. DPR needs to collaborate with the University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program to fine-tune effective alternatives to chlorpyrifos for a final few crop-pest combinations, and help California farmers to transition away from chlorpyrifos.

This is an issue you and the state can lead on. California has rich resources to get this job done, including UC research and pesticide use reporting and data collection. We also have a proud history of leading the country in health and environmental protective policies.Thanks for your immediate attention.

[Your comment here]

Sincerely,

[Your name here]
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