California will ban a brain-damaging pesticide that the Trump administration's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has delayed banning at the national level, the state announced Wednesday. Chlorpyrifos, which is used on almonds, citrus, grapes, cotton, walnuts and other crops, has been shown to harm children's health and neurological development. "Countless people have suffered as a result of this chemical," California EPA (Cal-EPA) Secretary Jared Blumenfeld told The Guardian. "A lot of people live and work and go to school right next to fields that are being sprayed with chlorpyrifos … It's an issue of environmental health and justice." The ban will take effect between six months and two years, and is accompanied by $5.7 million in funds from Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom to help transition to safer alternatives, The Washington Post reported. California follows Hawaii and New York in approving a ban on the pesticide, and bills to ban chlorpyrifos are being considered by New Jersey, Connecticut and Oregon. The EPA had recommended banning the pesticide during the Obama administration, but Trump's first pick for EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, walked back those efforts in 2017. Environmental groups then sued the agency. In the most recent development in the ensuing legal battle, a federal judge in April ordered the EPA to make a final decision on a ban by mid-July. "Governor Newsom has done what the Trump administration has refused to do: protect children, farmworkers and millions of others from being exposed to this neurotoxic pesticide," Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook said in a statement reported by The Washington Post. "With the governor's action, California is once again showing leadership in protecting public health." University of California, San Francisco medical professor and former Cal-EPA Deputy Secretary Dr. Gina Solomon told Time that chlorpyrifos was unique among pesticides in that scientists know a significant amount about how it harms humans. "We know a lot about what it does to developing children and that science is the bedrock of the action that Cal-EPA is announcing," she said. "Many pesticides have been studied well in lab rats but in this case we actually know what it does to people." Chlorpyrifos has been shown to harm brain development in fetuses and lead to reduced IQ and reading ability and increased hyperactivity, in children. Children exposed in utero even have smaller heads, Solomon said. "The science is definitive," Blumenfeld told The Guardian. "This job really should have been done by the US EPA." However, Solomon noted that since California grows the majority of fruits and vegetables in the U.S., its ban will have a positive impact on other states, too.<doc-sep>The ban, which is expected to take six months to two years to take full effect, comes as other states have started taking similar action. Last year, Hawaii became the first state to ban pesticides containing chlorpyrifos, though that will not take effect until 2022. New York lawmakers recently approved legislation to ban the pesticide by Dec. 1, 2021. Oregon, Connecticut and New Jersey also have bills to take chlorpyrifos off the market.<doc-sep>California, the nation’s top agricultural state, banned a common pesticide Wednesday, citing research showing it hinders brain development in children. Chlorpyrifos, known on the market as Lorsban, is sprayed on a wide variety of crops including corn and cranberries, and farmers often call it a last line of defense against certain insects. The chemical was initially targeted for phase-out by the Obama administration after U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists recommended a ban on the pesticide in 2016. But that decision was reversed under the Trump administration, and the agency has delayed taking further action, leaving bans in state hands. ADVERTISEMENT California’s action comes from the state’s EPA, though state lawmakers are also considering a ban by legislation. The agency argued the ban was needed “to prevent the significant harm this pesticide causes children, farm workers and vulnerable communities,” according to a statement. The EPA banned household use of chlorpyrifos in 2000 due to its risks for children, and scientists recommended a full ban on the pesticide in 2016. But President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE's former EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt Edward (Scott) Scott PruittCourt sets in motion EPA ban on pesticide linked to developmental issues Scientific integrity, or more hot air? OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden proposes billions for electric vehicles, building retrofitting| EPA chief to replace Trump appointees on science advisory panels | Kerry to travel to UAE, India to discuss climate change MORE, ignored that advice, leaving the department in a long legal battle over the substance. In August, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals gave the agency 60 days to implement a ban, but the Department of Justice asked the court to reconsider. In April, the court instead gave the agency 90 days to determine whether it would allow the chemical to be used on crops. “EPA’s last re-evaluation of chlorpyrifos was completed in 2006 as part of the reregistration process. EPA is currently re-evaluating chlorpyrifos," said Michael Abboud, an EPA spokesman. The process of banning the substance in California could take up to two years, and Gov. Gavin Newsom Gavin NewsomOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden administration reaches offshore wind agreement with California | DHS to require pipeline companies to report cyberattacks Biden administration inks offshore wind agreement with California Caitlyn Jenner to be first in-studio guest on Fox morning news show since pandemic hit MORE (D) said the budget would include $5.7 million to help farmers transition to safer alternatives. Scientists worry chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxin, affects the human nervous system much like it attacks those of insects. The pesticide has been linked to learning and memory issues and prolonged nerve and muscle stimulation. States are increasingly taking action to ban chlorpyrifos as the EPA delays action. Hawaii and New York have already banned use of the pesticide on food.<doc-sep>
LOS ANGELES — California regulators moved Wednesday to ban chlorpyrifos, a controversial pesticide used on almond, citrus and grape crops in the nation's largest agricultural state. California's planned ban follows Hawaii and New York announcing similar moves against chlorpyrifos, a widely used chemical in farming that environmentalists claim is harmful to children and farmworkers. Chlorpyrifos is manufactured by DowDuPont, which has insisted the pesticide is safe. Dow has lobbied the Trump administration to keep chlorpyrifos available for crops. California plans to phase out the use of the pesticide statewide in a process that could take up to two years. New York lawmakers approved a ban April 30 that would end the use of chlorpyrifos in the state by 2021, while Hawaii's ban, announced last year, won't take effect until late 2022. "California's action to cancel the registration of chlorpyrifos is needed to prevent the significant harm this pesticide causes children, farm workers and vulnerable communities," Jared Blumenfeld, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, or CalEPA, said in a statement. "This action also represents a historic opportunity for California to develop a new framework for alternative pest management practices." According to CalEPA, "the decision to ban chlorpyrifos follows mounting evidence, including recent findings by the state's independent Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants, that the pesticide causes serious health effects in children and other sensitive populations at lower levels of exposure than previously understood. These effects include impaired brain and neurological development." In April, CalEPA regulators formally listed chlorpyrifos as a "toxic air contaminant," meaning the state believed it "may pose a present or potential hazard to human health." It said the move was done "to protect the health of farm workers and others living and working near where the pesticide is used." CalEPA said Wednesday that chlorpyrifos use has declined in California in the past decade as farmers "have shifted to safer alternatives." It said use of the pesticide dropped more than 50% from 2 million pounds in 2005 to just over 900,000 pounds in 2016. In March 2017, the Trump administration moved to show its support for chlorpyrifos. Then-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt rejected an attempt to ban the pesticide for use on food crops such as fruits, vegetables and nuts. The largest agricultural market currently for chlorpyrifos is corn, according to the agency. In 2016 the federal EPA, under President Barack Obama, moved to restrict use of chlorpyrifos after being petitioned by several environmental groups. Dow challenged the agency, saying its "assessment lacks scientific vigor." In supporting chlorpyrifos, Dow previously has said "growers face limited or no viable alternatives to chlorpyrifos. When an outbreak of a new pest occurs, growers look to chlorpyrifos as a proven first-line of defense." DowDuPont did not immediately reply to CNBC's request for comment Wednesday. Chlorpyrifos is used in more than 90 countries. Most household uses of the chemical ended in 2000, but it has remained popular in farming.