The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put forward a proposal to end the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, a chemical used in the production of a variety of crops in the US.
The insecticide, which already has 'no home use' status and is banned from use around certain sensitive areas such as schools, is sprayed on crops such as citrus, apples, cherries, gapes and some vegetables.
A statement from the group said that while current analysis does not suggest risks from exposure to chlorpyrifos in food, those exposures, when combined with estimated exposure from drinking water in certain watersheds, may not meets the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act safety standard.
Proposals to ban use of the product will now be open to public comment for two months, with a ruling made late next year and any potential ban coming into force in 2017.
