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[US] EPA approves herbicide “Enlist Duo” prompting environmentalists to sue the agency
- #Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
EPA has registered the herbicide Enlist Duo, a pesticide used for controlling weeds in corn and soybeans that have been genetically engineered to tolerate 2,4-D and glyphosate. In response, environmentalists have challenged EPA’s approval, arguing the pesticide threatens the environment and human health.
The EPA has announced that it is registering the herbicide Enlist Duo following a petition from Dow AgroSciences LLC. Enlist Duo conctains glyphosate and the choline salt of 2,4-D, a commonly used herbicide less likely to drift to neighboring fields. The herbicide is meant to be used on corn and soybeans that have been genetically engineered to tolerate 2,4-D. The genetically engineered corn and soybeans were recently approved for use.
EPA approved the herbicide for use in 6 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In response, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) sued the agency requesting a federal court review EPA’s decision to give the greenlight to Dow to sell the controversial pesticide.
EPA says that it used a “highly conservative” approach to evaluate and assess human health and ecological risks associated with Enlist Duo. EPA also put restrictions on where the pesticide can be sprayed and measures to be followed to help ensure the safety of agricultural workers.
NRDC wasn’t buying EPA’s conservative approach, arguing that EPA failed to account for the risk to humans caused by 2,4-D, an ingredient used in Agent Orange. NRDC also cited the damage that will be caused to monarch butterflies, arguing that glyphosate has been responsible for a 90 percent drop in migrating monarch populations due to the chemical destroying the monarch’s primary food source.
EPA and the USDA had been working simultaneously on reviewing Enlist Duo and the genetically modified seeds and crops that it will be used on. It is not clear whether NRDC’s litigation will halt Dow’s rollout of Enlist Duo.
Red-on-line EHS Legal Counsel
Source:
Press Release: EPA Announces Final Decision to Register Enlist Duo, EPA, October 15, 2014