California has moved to ban the widely used pesticide chlorpyrifos, linking its use to the development of neurological problems in infants and children. Chlorpyrifos is used on a number of produce nationwide, including almonds, citrus, cotton, grapes and walnuts. This is seen as a move by the state to oppose the Trump Administration’s EPA on its loosening of environmental regulations.
The Obama-era EPA moved to ban chlorpyrifos back in 2015, in response to a petition filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Pesticide Action Network America. A federal judge gave the EPA until March 2017 to decide on whether to finalize the ban.
