Fetuses Experience Levels of DCPA 4 to 20 Times Greater Than What EPA Deems Safe.

The dangers of Dacthal, a pesticide used widely on crops like broccoli and cabbage, prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take extreme measures last week. The agency issued an emergency order to stop the use of DCPA (Dacthal) pesticide due to its alarming health risks, particularly for pregnant women and their unborn children. Exposure to this pesticide has been linked to birth defects, impaired brain development, and other serious health issues.

Pregnant farmworkers and those involved in applying DCPA face significant risks, as the chemical can cross the placental barrier, potentially causing lifelong harm to the developing fetus.

Workers are prohibited from entering fields for 12 hours after DCPA application, but the EPA discovered that the chemical’s levels can stay unsafe for 25 days or longer, making the threat of exposure substantial. According to a statement from the EPA, it’s possible for a pregnant woman to be exposed to DCPA without even knowing it.

This exposure can alter the developing fetus’ thyroid hormone levels, an effect that has been associated with multiple negative health outcomes, including:

• Low birth weight
• Impaired brain development
• Decreased IQ
• Impaired motor skills

Women who were exposed to DCPA during pregnancy and whose children suffer from birth defects or developmental delays may be eligible to file a lawsuit. Levin Papantonio, a nationally recognized law firm with extensive experience in toxic exposure cases, is investigating cases.

Specifically, the law firm is talking to women who, during pregnancy, worked on a farm or nursery where vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, or onion bulbs were grown, and who were exposed to DCPA (whether through direct application or tasks like weeding, transplanting, tying, thinning, or harvesting).

These individuals may be eligible to seek compensation if their child was born with low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ, impaired motor skills, and/or reduced bone growth.

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a Data Call-In to AMVAC Chemical Corporation, the only company that manufactures DCPA. Despite being required to submit safety data for nearly a decade, the manufacturer, AMVAC, failed to provide crucial studies, including one on thyroid effects. AMVAC eventually submitted the thyroid study in August 2022.

The EPA evaluated the risks of exposure to DCPA in May 2023. According to this assessment, Dacthal health risks existed even in cases where workers used personal protective equipment (PPE). The assessment further highlighted the strong risk to unborn babies of women exposed to DCPA during pregnancy. For pregnant women, handling Dacthal could expose their fetuses to levels of DCPA four to 20 times greater than what EPA deems safe for unborn babies.

Although AMVAC made some changes, like canceling turf use, the EPA found that the dangers, especially for pregnant individuals working with or near treated areas, remained too severe. The EPA plans to cancel DCPA’s registration entirely within the next 90 days, citing the immediate threat it poses.

Jeannie Economos, coordinator of the pesticide safety and environmental health program at the Farmworker Association of Florida, expressed to the Washington Post‘s Maxine Joselow and Amudalat Ajasa that the EPA’s order arrived far too late for workers already exposed to DCPA. “It shouldn’t have taken this long, but we are glad that they did it finally,” she said. “How many people got sick in the meantime? How many babies were born with low birth weight? We don’t know.”