Use of Pesticide Chlorpyrifos Reinstated by Eighth Circuit

The US Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully revoked permission to use the insecticide chlorpyrifos, the Eighth Circuit ruled Thursday, holding that the agency misinterpreted its own authority and failed to consider alternative options before making a rushed decision.

“The EPA should not have reflexively rejected an approach it had the power to adopt, even if it would have required more work,” a three-judge panel on the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit said, vacating the revocation. “A short deadline is no excuse for zeroing in on a single solution to the exclusion of others.”

Chlorpyrifos, which kills harmful insects ...