Salmon and Orca Survival Threatened by Chlorpyrifos Pesticide: Government Report
10 January 2018
Animals
A coho salmon spawns on the Salmon River in Oregon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
A group of three widely used agricultural pesticides jeopardizes the survival of endangered salmon, according to a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) biological opinion unveiled this week. Chlorpyrifos, malathion and diazinon—all organophosphate pesticides—harm salmon and their habitat to the point that their survival and recovery are at risk, according to the report. Southern Resident Killer Whales, or orcas, are also at risk as they depend on salmon.
<p>The NMFS crafted the report to comply with a 2014 court deadline for the agency to determine whether these pesticides threatened salmon with extinction. Upon determining that these organophosphates jeopardize salmon survival, the biological opinion offers three options for protective measures to avoid that outcome with a variety of measures including buffer zones, spray reduction technologies and pesticide stewardship programs. </p><p>"The best available science clearly shows these pesticides are a major threat to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered</a> salmon and to our orca <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/whales">whales</a>, which need salmon to survive," said Patti Goldman, managing attorney at Earthjustice. "These pesticides are bad for people every way they are exposed to it and toxic to salmon." </p><p>Chlorpyrifos, widely used in citrus, nuts and orchards, is acutely toxic and associated with neurodevelopmental harms in children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa">EPA</a>) <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-03/documents/chlorpyrifos3b_order_denying_panna_and_nrdc27s_petitition_to_revoke_tolerances.pdf" target="_blank">refused to ban chlorpyrifos</a> in 2017, despite <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/opinion/sunday/protect-our-childrens-brains.html?_r=0" target="_blank">overwhelming evidence</a> that shows the pesticide harms children, workers and the environment.</p><p><a href="http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/emon/pubs/fatememo/efate_malathion.pdf" target="_blank">Malathion</a> is used in more than 100 food crops, and about half of total applications in the U.S. are on alfalfa, cotton, rice and wheat. A number of growth anomalies have been observed when fish were exposed to malathion, according to studies. <a href="http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/carbaryl-dicrotophos/diazinon-ext.html" target="_blank">Diazinon</a> is used on rice, fruit trees, sugarcane, corn, potatoes and horticultural plants.</p><p>NMFS had a Dec. 31, 2017, deadline for completing the consultations for these three pesticides, and was on track to meet this milestone and issue a biological opinion. Dow AgroSciences asked the agencies last April to derail the consultation process. Late last year, the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration asked the courts to give agencies a two-year delay but complied with the 2017 deadline after Earthjustice and the fishermen and conservation groups it represents pushed back.</p><p>"Salmon have been waiting four decades for relief from toxic pesticides in many of our rivers," said Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of the <a href="https://pcffa.org/" target="_blank">Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations</a>. "The agencies should do their job."</p><p>This case is one in a series of cases that have pushed to ensure that endangered salmon on the West Coast are safe from toxic pesticides, as required by the Endangered Species Act. In <a href="http://www.earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/library/factsheets/salmon_lawsuit_factsheet.pdf" target="_blank">2002</a>, a successful lawsuit brought by Earthjustice established that the Environmental Protection Agency has the duty to protect salmon and comply with the Endangered Species Act when registering pesticides for use. </p><p>At that time, the U.S. District Court in Seattle found that the federal government had failed to protect 26 endangered and threatened species of salmon and steelhead from 54 toxic pesticides. The judge ordered EPA to consult with NMFS to identify permanent measures needed to protect the salmon and steelhead from the pesticides.</p><p>Since then and as a result of multiple lawsuits, the EPA started the process of consulting with NMFS to determine whether EPA's pesticide registrations impacts endangered salmon and steelhead. The Fisheries Service delayed doing its part, which led to this lawsuit and court-ordered deadlines.</p><p>Pesticides have profound effects on Northwest salmon and are a serious factor in their decline. Now that the biological opinion has been released, fishermen and conservation groups want the EPA to move expeditiously to put the protective measures in place.</p><p>"Those of us who fight to protect and restore rivers and their critical fisheries are very pleased that the biological opinions were released," said Sharon Selvaggio, of Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides. "To protect salmon, we need to respond to what the science is showing us."</p><p>Federal government inaction puts at risk billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. As recently as the late 1980s, salmon and steelhead fishing in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Northern California brought in $1.25 billion to the regional economy and supported more than 62,000 family wage jobs, according to <a href="http://congressionalresearch.com/98-666/document.php?study=Pacific+Salmon+and+Steelhead+Trout+Management+Under+the+Endangered+Species+Act" target="_blank">independent economic studies</a>. Government studies from <a href="http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01145/wdfw_01145.pdf" target="_blank">Washington</a>, <a href="https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Salmon-Fisheries" target="_blank">Oregon and California</a> show the economic benefits of dwindling salmon have grown exponentially since then.</p><p>Salmon runs have <a href="http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/fish/salmon.html" target="_blank">declined</a> because of dams, climate change, widespread habitat loss and pesticide runoff. <a href="https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/news/features/pesticide_mixtures/index.cfm" target="_blank">Scientists have found</a> that, even at low levels, pesticides can cause the abnormal sexual development of salmon and impair their swimming ability, growth, development, behavior and reproduction.</p><p>Earthjustice is handling the case on behalf of <a href="http://www.pesticide.org/" target="_blank">Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides</a>, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, and <a href="https://www.ifrfish.org/" target="_blank">Institute for Fisheries Resources</a>.</p>
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Trump Administration Seeks Two-Year Delay on Pesticide Assessments Following Industry Request
15 November 2017
Popular
Dow CEO Andrew Liveris and President Donald Trump in February.
The Trump administration filed a motion before a federal judge requesting two more years to complete an assessment on the risks of three common pesticides on endangered species.
The pesticides in question—chlorpyrifos, malathion and diazinon—are three organophosphate insecticides known to harm the vast majority of the nearly 1,800 animals and plants protected under the Endangered Species Act, according to an extensive federal study.
<p><span></span>Notably, the <a href="https://apnews.com/9e20add1e2d944caa7c8cdc756bae24b/Trump-administration-seeks-to-delay-findings-on-pesticides" target="_blank">Associated Press</a> reported, the administration's motion comes after chlorpyrifos-maker <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dow">Dow</a> Chemical Co. and two other organophosphate manufacturers asked the government <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-dow-chemical-pesticide-study-20170420-story.html" target="_blank">to ignore the findings of the aforementioned study</a>. </p><p>"It's appallingly clear that the pesticide industry is now essentially running Trump's EPA," said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>. "This disturbing request shows that [EPA administrator Scott] Pruitt and Trump are more interested in protecting the profits of their corporate buddies than the hundreds of endangered species threatened by these deadly pesticides."</p><p>If the request is granted, it would modify a 2014 legal agreement secured by the Center for Biological Diversity that required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa">EPA</a>) to assess the pesticides' harms by the end of 2017.</p><p><a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/pesticides-11-14-2017.php" target="_blank">According</a> to a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity: <br></p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">
"Under the Endangered Species Act, the EPA must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure its actions do not jeopardize endangered species or harm their habitats.<br></p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">
Despite this clear mandate, the EPA has essentially ignored the plight of endangered species injured and killed by pesticides. Only after the Center's 2014 legal victory did the agency agree to comply with this long-standing requirement.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">Unless the court approves the new delay request, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries services will use those assessments to develop common-sense measures to reduce the pesticides' harm to endangered species—for example by limiting spraying in their habitat—by the end of the year."</p><p>The Associated Press pointed out that this move "is the latest example of the Trump administration seeking to block or delay environmental rules at the behest of the industry."</p><p>Dow contributed $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee. President Trump also named Dow CEO Andrew Liveris head of his American Manufacturing Council and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-executive-order-regulations-2282814216.html" target="_blank">received the president's ceremonial</a><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-executive-order-regulations-2282814216.html" target="_blank"> pen</a> used to sign the executive order aimed at eliminating regulations that he claims are damaging to the U.S. economy.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="df4321f520c51f559e5c307126d8b555"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/10158710783090301/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
<p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pruitt-dow-chlorpyrifos-2449662128.html" target="_blank">In March</a>, according to records obtained by the <a href="https://apnews.com/2350d7be5e24469ab445089bf663cdcb/EPA-chief-met-with-Dow-CEO-before-deciding-on-pesticide-ban" target="_blank">Associated Press</a>, Pruitt met with Liveris for about 30 minutes at a Houston hotel. Later that month, Pruitt announced that he would no longer pursue a ban on chlorpyrifos from being used on food, ignoring his agency's own review that even small amounts of the pesticide could impact fetus and infant brain development.</p>
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