Title: Protect Children, Farmers, and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act of 2019
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Protect Children, Farmers, and Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act of 2019
This bill imposes prohibitions on the registration, distribution, sale, and use of pesticides that contain chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate pesticide. Specifically, the bill prohibits the sale of any food that contains chlorpyrifos.
The bill also prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from registering any pesticide containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient. Additionally, the EPA must cancel registration of any pesticide containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient.
The bill prohibits the export of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient to foreign countries.
Currently, during emergency conditions, the EPA is authorized to exempt federal or state agencies from laws and regulations that govern the registration, distribution, sale, and use of pesticides. Under the bill, the EPA is prohibited from exempting federal and state agencies from such laws and regulations with respect to any pesticide containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 921 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 921

     To prohibit the use of chlorpyrifos on food, to prohibit the 
   registration of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 28, 2019

 Mr. Udall (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Cardin, Mrs. 
  Feinstein, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Harris, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
 Merkley, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Durbin) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To prohibit the use of chlorpyrifos on food, to prohibit the 
   registration of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protect Children, Farmers, and 
Farmworkers from Nerve Agent Pesticides Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) In 1996, Congress unanimously passed the Food Quality 
        Protection Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-170; 110 Stat. 1489) 
        (referred to in this section as ``FQPA''), a comprehensive 
        overhaul of Federal pesticide and food safety policy. That Act 
        amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 
        (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.) (referred to in this section as 
        ``FIFRA'') and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
        U.S.C. 301 et seq.), the laws that govern how the Environmental 
        Protection Agency (referred to in this section as the ``EPA'') 
        registers pesticides and pesticide labels for use in the United 
        States and establishes tolerances or acceptable levels for 
        pesticide residues on food.
            (2) The FQPA directs the EPA to ensure with ``reasonable 
        certainty'' that ``no harm'' will result from food, drinking 
        water, and other exposures to a pesticide. If the EPA cannot 
        make this safety finding, it must prohibit residues and use of 
        the pesticide on food. The FQPA mandates that the EPA must 
        consider children's special sensitivity and exposure to 
        pesticide chemicals and must make an explicit determination 
        that the pesticide can be used with a ``reasonable certainty of 
        no harm'' to children. In determining acceptable levels of 
        pesticide residue, the EPA must account for the potential 
        health harm from pre- and postnatal exposures. The economic 
        benefits of pesticides cannot be used to override this health-
        based standard for children from food and other exposures.
            (3) Chlorpyrifos is a widely used pesticide first 
        registered by the EPA in 1965. Chlorpyrifos is an 
        organophosphate pesticide, a class of pesticides developed as 
        nerve agents in World War II and adapted for use as 
        insecticides after the war. Chlorpyrifos and other 
        organophosphate pesticides affect the nervous system through 
        inhibition of cholinesterase, an enzyme required for proper 
        nerve functioning. Acute poisonings occur when nerve impulses 
        pulsate through the body, causing symptoms like nausea, 
        vomiting, convulsions, respiratory paralysis, and, in extreme 
        cases, death. Based on dozens of peer-reviewed scientific 
        articles, the EPA determined that exposure during pregnancy to 
        even low levels of chlorpyrifos that caused only minimal 
        cholinesterase inhibition (10 percent or less) in the mothers 
        could lead to measurable long-lasting and possibly permanent 
        neurobehavioral and functional deficits in prenatally exposed 
        children.
            (4) People, including pregnant women, are exposed to 
        chlorpyrifos through residues on food, contaminated drinking 
        water, and toxic spray drift from nearby pesticide 
        applications. Chlorpyrifos is used on an extensive variety of 
        crops, including fruit and nut trees, vegetables, wheat, 
        alfalfa, and corn. Between 2006 and 2012, chlorpyrifos was 
        applied to more than 50 percent of the Nation's apple and 
        broccoli crops, 45 percent of onion crops, 46 percent of walnut 
        crops, and 41 percent of cauliflower crops.
            (5) Chlorpyrifos is acutely toxic and associated with 
        neurodevelopmental harms in children. Prenatal exposure to 
        chlorpyrifos is associated with elevated risks of reduced IQ, 
        loss of working memory, delays in motor development, attention-
        deficit disorders, and structural changes in the brain.
            (6) There is no nationwide chlorpyrifos use reporting. The 
        United States Geological Survey estimates annual pesticide use 
        on agricultural land in the United States, and estimates that 
        chlorpyrifos use on crops in 2014 ranged from 5,000,000 to 
        7,000,000 pounds of chlorpyrifos.
            (7) In its 2016 report, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, 
        and Rodenticide Act Scientific Advisory Panel recognized ``the 
        growing body of literature with laboratory animals (rats and 
        mice) indicating that gestational and/or early postnatal 
        exposure to chlorpyrifos may cause persistent effects into 
        adulthood along with epidemiology studies which have evaluated 
        prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure in mother-infant pairs and 
        reported associations with neurodevelopment outcomes in infants 
        and children.''.
            (8) Chlorpyrifos has long been of concern to the EPA. 
        Residential uses of chlorpyrifos ended in 2000 after the EPA 
        found unsafe exposures to children. The EPA also discontinued 
        use of chlorpyrifos on tomatoes and restricted its use on 
        apples and grapes in 2000, and obtained no-spray buffers around 
        schools, homes, playfields, day cares, hospitals, and other 
        public places, ranging from 10 to 100 feet. In 2015, the EPA 
        proposed to ban all chlorpyrifos food tolerances, based on 
        unsafe drinking water contamination, which would end use of 
        chlorpyrifos on food in the United States. After updating the 
        risk assessment for chlorpyrifos in November 2016 to protect 
        against prenatal exposures associated with brain impacts, the 
        EPA found that expected residues from use on food crops 
        exceeded the safety standard, and additionally the majority of 
        estimated drinking water exposures from currently allowed uses 
        of chlorpyrifos also exceeded acceptable levels, reinforcing 
        the need to revoke all food tolerances for the pesticide.
            (9) Chlorpyrifos threatens the healthy development of 
        children. Children experience greater exposure to chlorpyrifos 
        and other pesticides because, relative to adults, they eat and 
        drink more proportional to their body weight. A growing body of 
        evidence shows that prenatal exposure to very low levels of 
        chlorpyrifos can lead to lasting and possibly permanent 
        neurological impairments. In November 2016, the EPA released a 
        revised human health risk assessment for chlorpyrifos that 
        confirmed that there are no acceptable uses for the pesticide, 
        all food uses exceed acceptable levels, with children ages 1 to 
        2 exposed to levels of chlorpyrifos that are 140 times what the 
        EPA considers acceptable.
            (10) Chlorpyrifos threatens agricultural workers. Farm 
        workers are exposed to chlorpyrifos from mixing, handling, and 
        applying the pesticide, as well as from entering fields where 
        chlorpyrifos was recently sprayed. Chlorpyrifos is one of the 
        pesticides most often linked to acute pesticide poisonings, and 
        in many States, it is regularly identified among the 5 
        pesticides linked to the highest number of pesticide poisoning 
        incidents. This is significant given widespread underreporting 
        of pesticide poisonings due to such factors as inadequate 
        reporting systems, fear of retaliation from employers, and 
        reluctance to seek medical treatment. According to the EPA, all 
        workers who mix and apply chlorpyrifos are exposed to unsafe 
        levels of the pesticide even with maximum personal protective 
        equipment and engineering controls. Field workers are currently 
        allowed to re-enter fields within 1 to 5 days after 
        chlorpyrifos is sprayed based on current restricted entry 
        intervals on the registered chlorpyrifos labels but unsafe 
        exposures continue on average 18 days after applications.
            (11) Chlorpyrifos threatens families in agricultural 
        communities. Rural families are exposed to unsafe levels of 
        chlorpyrifos on their food and in their drinking water. They 
        are also exposed to toxic levels of chlorpyrifos when it drifts 
        from the fields to homes, schools, and other places people 
        gather. The EPA's 2016 revised human health risk assessment 
        found that chlorpyrifos drift reaches unsafe levels at 300 feet 
        away from the edge of the treated field, and the chemical 
        chlorpyrifos is found at unsafe levels in the air at schools, 
        homes, and communities in agricultural areas. The small buffers 
        put in place in 2012 leave children unprotected from this toxic 
        pesticide drift.
            (12) Chlorpyrifos threatens drinking water. The EPA's 2014 
        and 2016 risk assessments have found that chlorpyrifos levels 
        in drinking water are unsafe. People living and working in 
        agricultural communities are likely to be exposed to higher 
        levels of chlorpyrifos and other organophosphate pesticides in 
        their drinking water.
            (13) In 2015, leading scientific and medical experts, along 
        with children's health advocates, came together, under 
        ``Project TENDR: Targeting Environmental Neuro-Developmental 
        Risks'' (referred to in this section as ``TENDR''), to issue a 
        call to action to reduce widespread exposures to chemicals that 
        interfere with fetal and children's brain development. Based on 
        the available and peer-reviewed scientific evidence, the TENDR 
        authors identified prime examples of neurodevelopmentally toxic 
        chemicals ``that can contribute to learning, behavioral, or 
        intellectual impairment, as well as specific neurodevelopmental 
        disorders such as ADHD or autism spectrum disorder,'' and 
        listed organophosphate pesticides, among them. In 2018, leading 
        scientists involved with TENDR published an article in PLOS 
        Medicine that found that prenatal exposure to organophosphate 
        pesticides such as chlorpyrifos, even at low levels that were 
        previously considered safe, are putting children at risk for 
        cognitive and behavioral deficits and neurodevelopmental 
        disorders. The scientists recommended phasing out chlorpyrifos.
            (14) In August 2018, based on overwhelming findings that 
        chlorpyrifos is unsafe for public health, and particularly 
        harmful to children and farmworkers, the United States Court of 
        Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ordered the EPA to move forward 
        with a ban of chlorpyrifos, stating that ``the time has come to 
        put a stop to this patent evasion'' of the law. However, 
        instead of complying with the court order, the EPA has appealed 
        the ruling.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF CHLORPYRIFOS ON FOOD.

    Section 402 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
342) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if it bears or 
contains chlorpyrifos, including any residue of chlorpyrifos, or any 
other added substance that is present on or in the food primarily as a 
result of the metabolism or other degradation of chlorpyrifos.''.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON REGISTRATION OF PESTICIDES CONTAINING 
              CHLORPYRIFOS.

    Section 3(f) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 
Act (7 U.S.C. 136a(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Prohibition on registration of pesticides containing 
        chlorpyrifos.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator shall not 
                register under this Act any pesticide containing 
                chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient.
                    ``(B) Cancellation of registrations.--The 
                Administrator shall cancel the registration under this 
                Act of any pesticide containing chlorpyrifos as an 
                active ingredient.
                    ``(C) Administration.--The Administrator shall 
                carry out subparagraph (B) without regard to sections 
                6(a)(1), 6(b), and 15.''.

SEC. 5. PESTICIDES AND DEVICES INTENDED FOR EXPORT.

    (a) In General.--Section 17(a) of the Federal Insecticide, 
Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136o(a)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting 
        appropriately;
            (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so 
        redesignated), by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting 
        the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), 
        notwithstanding'';
            (3) in the undesignated matter following paragraph (1)(B) 
        (as so designated), by striking ``A copy of that statement'' 
        and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Transmission to appropriate official.--A copy of the 
        statement described in paragraph (1)(B)''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Exception for pesticides containing chlorpyrifos.--
        Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any pesticide containing 
        chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 3(f)(4) of the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136a(f)(4)) is 
amended in the undesignated matter following subparagraph (B) by 
striking ``17(a)(2)'' and inserting ``17(a)(1)(B)''.

SEC. 6. EXEMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES.

    Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 
Act (7 U.S.C. 136p) is amended in the first sentence by inserting 
``(except with respect to any pesticide containing chlorpyrifos as an 
active ingredient)'' after ``provision of this Act''.
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