Statement: Governor Hogan’s veto of Chlorpyrifos ban runs counter to scientific evidence

Environment Maryland

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

CONTACT: 

Kate Breimann, Advocate, Environment Maryland, 276-229-9108, [email protected] 

Emily Scarr, Director, Maryland PIRG, 859-221-4213, [email protected]

Josh Chetwynd, Communications Manager, 303-573-5558, [email protected] 

Statement: Governor Hogan’s veto of Chlorpyrifos ban runs counter to scientific evidence 

ANNAPOLIS – Gov. Larry Hogan announced today that he is vetoing a state ban on the pesticide chlorpyrifos. This comes despite strong support in theMaryland General Assembly when the legislation (SB 300/HB 229) passed in March. 

Environment Maryland Advocate Kate Breimann released this statement in response:

“Environment Maryland is deeply disappointed that the governor decided to veto this important ban on the toxic pesticide chlorpyrifos. The science is conclusive: Chlorpyrifos is a highly toxic chemical that poisons our water, can prove fatal to our wildlife, and endangers our public health. 

‘In 2016, the EPA found that dangerous levels of chlorpyrifos threaten infants, children, young girls and women  through the food they eat. In fact, even low-level exposure can cause developmental delays, brain damage and behavioral problems in children. “Chlorpyrifos is also harming our wildlife. This chemical is highly toxic to bees and other pollinators. This should concern us all since pollinators are critical to food security. Chlorpyrifos is also ruining our water. A Chesapeake Bay Program report ranked it among the ‘top five individual toxics of concern’. The study found chlorpyrifos present in 90 percent of bay  water analyzed with 40 percent of those samples having concentrations exceeding thresholds that could cause tragic  ecological effects. 

It’s 2020. We have better methods to grow the food we need. Toxic pesticides that can end up in our bodies and threaten our health should be banned — and the governor shouldn’t turn his back on this incontrovertible science.” 

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Environment Maryland is a citizen-based environmental advocacy organization. We work to protect clean air, clean water, and open space. We have thousands of members across the state and are based in Baltimore.