California Tightens Chlorpyrifos Use Restrictions

California growers will face tighter restrictions in applying Dow AgroSciences’ chlorpyrifos insecticide in September, state officials said Aug. 18.

Interim restrictions on the use of the insecticide, effective next month, will increase the distances between application sites and homes, schools, hospitals, streams, rivers, and other sensitive locations, Department of Pesticide Regulation spokeswoman Charlotte Fadipe said. In addition, the state is undertaking two new reviews of the chemical.

The state has launched a scientific review of chlorpyrifos that could lead to even stricter use requirements, Fadipe told Bloomberg BNA.

Meanwhile, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment