The New York Times reported letter to the EPA from unions that represent thousands of EPA staff scientists said the agency was "bending to political pressure [from the pesticide industry] and ignoring sound science in allowing a group of toxic chemicals to be used in agricultural pesticides."
Those chemicals, the letter said, "pose serious risks for fetuses, pregnant women, young children and the elderly through food and exposure and should not be approved.
The chemicals in question are organophosphates and carbamates, long a matter of controversy over their environmental and health risks. They are in such pesticides as chlorpyrifos, methyl parathion and diazinon, the Times said.
"We are concerned that the agency has not, consistent with its principles of scientific integrity and sound science, adequately summarized or drawn conclusions" about the chemicals, the letter said. The union leaders also said they believed that under priorities of EPA management, "the concerns of agriculture and the pesticide industry come before our responsibility to protect the health of our nation's citizens."
For additional information on dangers of pesticides: www.panna.org
