EPA Refuses to Address Toxic Pesticide Ingredients, Suit Says

The US Environmental Protection Agency fails to assess the full environmental and health impacts of pesticides in its approval process, nonprofit groups including the Center for Food Safety said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in California.

EPA regulations only require pesticide companies to submit toxicity data on the active ingredients—or the ingredients that are designed to harm the targeted pest—in their products, but don’t require data on inert ingredients which are included for other purposes, the groups alleged.

Inert ingredients often make up the majority of a pesticide, and are just as hazardous as active ingredients—if not ...