Latest news with #dicamba
E&E News
5 days ago
- Health
- E&E News
EPA proposes approval for cancer-linked weedkiller
EPA has proposed use of the weedkiller dicamba for certain soybean and cotton crops, the agency announced Wednesday while also dismissing concerns about human exposure to the cancer-linked herbicide. The agency wants to allow use of three dicamba products to control herbicide-resistant broadleaf weeds and released draft environmental and human health assessments on the weedkiller. 'These new products would give farmers an additional tool to help manage crops and increase yields in order to provide a healthy and affordable food supply for our country,' the agency wrote in its release. Advertisement EPA said last year it would consider an application from Bayer Crop Science, a pesticide producer, to let farmers use dicamba after the agency partially banned the product. Use of dicamba has been debated due to its tendency to drift and kill crops on neighboring fields.
New York Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
E.P.A. Proposes Allowing Use of Dicamba Weedkiller on Some Crops
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed allowing the use of three products containing a controversial herbicide on genetically engineered cotton and soybeans. Last year, a federal court made certain uses of dicamba illegal after farmers complained that it had a tendency to drift into neighboring fields, damaging their crops. The ban was scheduled to take full effect this year. The E.P.A., which reviewed dicamba's uses and found it poses no risk to human health, is now accepting public comment on its proposed decision. It will then decide whether to greenlight the products. In a statement on Wednesday the E.P.A. said, 'these new products would give farmers an additional tool to help manage crops and increase yields in order to provide a healthy and affordable food supply for our country." Agriculture groups applauded the decision. Dicamba became one of the most widely-used herbicides on the market after agribusiness companies like Monsanto released genetically engineered seeds that could tolerate it in 2016. The idea was that farmers could spray their fields with dicamba and weeds would wilt while the crops would survive. Dicamba-tolerant seeds were developed in response to growing weed tolerance to another widely used herbicide, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. Starting in the 1990s, Monsanto marketed genetically engineered 'Roundup Ready' crop seeds alongside the popular herbicide Roundup. This line of corn, cotton and soy seeds was bred to resist glyphosate, and by 2011 more than 90 percent of soybeans grown in the U.S. were genetically engineered. The E.P.A.'s decision drew an immediate rebuke from the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental advocacy group that has sued over the use of dicamba. In a statement, Nathan Donley, the group's environmental health science director said, 'this is what happens when pesticide oversight is controlled by industry lobbyists.' Last month, Kyle Kunkler, a former soybean industry lobbyist who has been a vocal proponent of dicamba, joined the E.P.A.'s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention as its deputy assistant administrator.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US EPA moves to approve dicamba weedkiller use on cotton, soybeans
By Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed approvals for three products containing the weedkiller dicamba, whose use was halted by a federal court in 2024, arguing it does not pose a significant human health or environmental risk. Cotton and soybean farmers had sprayed dicamba on crops that were genetically engineered to resist the herbicide, which controls tough weeds. Environmental groups have criticized the chemical because it can drift from where it is sprayed and damage neighboring plants. A 2024 U.S. District Court ruling found the EPA previously violated public input procedures in its approval of three dicamba products, and vacated the product registrations. As a result, farmers were unable to spray dicamba on crops this year. The EPA has received applications from Bayer AG, BASF and Syngenta for new approvals, the agency said in regulatory documents. Bayer, which sold the dicamba herbicide XtendiMax, said it was pleased the EPA opened a public comment period on its proposal to approve dicamba usage. "We are confident that low-volatility dicamba herbicides, when used according to the label, can be used safely and successfully on-target," Bayer said. BASF said it would work with regulators to ensure farmers can use dicamba. Syngenta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An EPA review found no risk to human health from the products, but some risk to certain plants, it said in a release. To mitigate that risk, the agency is proposing restrictions on how much of the chemical can be applied and when, the release said. The top pesticides official at the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Kyle Kunkler, previously worked as a lobbyist for the American Soybean Association, which has supported allowing farmers to spray dicamba on soybeans. The association said it was reviewing the EPA's proposal and that dicamba is a critical tool for farmers.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Courts banned this herbicide twice. The EPA wants to bring it back.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday its proposed decision to reregister dicamba, a herbicide widely used on soybean and cotton farms that has been banned twice by federal courts. The EPA originally approved dicamba's use on genetically engineered soybeans and cotton in 2016. Environmental groups sued the EPA over dicamba in 2020 because of its potential drift away from the intended target, especially during warmer temperatures, and harm neighboring crops, nearby ecosystems and rural communities.
Reuters
6 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
US EPA moves to approve dicamba weedkiller use on cotton, soybeans
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed approvals for three products containing the weedkiller dicamba, whose use was halted by a federal court in 2024, arguing it does not pose a significant human health or environmental risk. Cotton and soybean farmers had sprayed dicamba on crops that were genetically engineered to resist the herbicide, which controls tough weeds. Environmental groups have criticized the chemical because it can drift from where it is sprayed and damage neighboring plants. A 2024 U.S. District Court ruling found the EPA previously violated public input procedures in its approval of three dicamba products, and vacated the product registrations. As a result, farmers were unable to spray dicamba on crops this year. The EPA has received applications from Bayer AG ( opens new tab, BASF and Syngenta for new approvals, the agency said in regulatory documents. Bayer, which sold the dicamba herbicide XtendiMax, said it was pleased the EPA opened a public comment period on its proposal to approve dicamba usage. "We are confident that low-volatility dicamba herbicides, when used according to the label, can be used safely and successfully on-target," Bayer said. BASF said it would work with regulators to ensure farmers can use dicamba. Syngenta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An EPA review found no risk to human health from the products, but some risk to certain plants, it said in a release. To mitigate that risk, the agency is proposing restrictions on how much of the chemical can be applied and when, the release said. The top pesticides official at the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, Kyle Kunkler, previously worked as a lobbyist for the American Soybean Association, which has supported allowing farmers to spray dicamba on soybeans. The association said it was reviewing the EPA's proposal and that dicamba is a critical tool for farmers.
