Seven states filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday for failing to properly regulate the pesticide Chlorpyrifos, a chemical that has been shown to have adverse effects on brain development in children.
In March, EPA head Scott Pruitt decided not to ban the pesticide, calling the science “unresolved.” That marked a swift reversal from years past, when the agency itself twice recommended that chlorpyrifos be banned after it failed to identify a safe level for consumption.
Now, seven attorneys general from New York, California, Maryland, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Washington, are accusing Pruitt’s EPA of violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which requires that the agency determine the amount of a chemical that is safe for human consumption.
“If the Trump Administration won’t follow the law—and put our children’s wellbeing first—we will fight back,” New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said in a statement.
