Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, along with a coalition of attorneys general, is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reinstate its previous ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos for nearly a dozen food crops. Chlorpyrifos has been linked to harmful effects on human health, particularly affecting children, pregnant women, and farmworkers. Although Oregon has already prohibited the use of chlorpyrifos within the state, there remains concern about imported crops.
“There is overwhelming evidence that shows that even at low levels, this pesticide can cause significant harm, including developmental delays and cognitive impairments,” said Rayfield. “The EPA needs to set zero food tolerances for chlorpyrifos, to ensure this dangerous pesticide does not enter our food supply.”
The EPA is considering revoking all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos except for 11 specific crops: alfalfa, apple, asparagus, tart cherry, citrus, cotton, peach, soybean, strawberry, sugar beet, and wheat. The current standard used by the EPA focuses on exposure levels causing acute pesticide poisonings rather than preventing neurodevelopmental harm.
States have long worked to mitigate the risks associated with human exposure to chlorpyrifos. In 2024, Oregon banned its use in almost all applications—not only on food crops but also on Christmas trees, grass seed fields and golf courses.
AG Rayfield and his coalition argue that allowing chlorpyrifos use on these 11 crops violates the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), which mandates that the EPA “ensure that there is reasonable certainty that no harm will result to infants and children from aggregate exposure” to chlorpyrifos.
“The health of our children and families must come first,” said Rayfield. “I strongly encourage the EPA to align its actions with the latest scientific findings and take steps to eliminate this pesticide from our food system altogether.”
Attorneys general from New York, California, Hawaii, Maryland Massachusetts Vermont Washington and Washington D.C., have joined Oregon in addressing their concerns in a letter to the EPA.