Emergency Stop Use Order Issued for Herbicide DCPA

US EPA has ordered an immediate stop to all use of the pesticide DCPA (i.e., Dacthal). Citing an imminent hazard to the health of unborn children, the agency issued an emergency Stop Use Order for DCPA on August 7, 2024. 

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) authorizes EPA to restrict the use of pesticides to prevent dangerous chemicals from entering the environment and damaging human health. The law includes a provision allowing EPA to issue emergency orders in cases where an “imminent hazard” exists. EPA has not taken this type of action under FIFRA in decades.

DCPA—or dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate—is an herbicide used to control grasses and weeds in agriculture, including on some types of vegetables, strawberries, and sod. It is also used on non-residential grass and turf on golf courses and sports fields. 

All DCPA used today is manufactured by a single company. The Emergency Stop Order for DCPA applies to three pesticide products registered under FIFRA. 

Why EPA Took Emergency Action Under FIFRA

The agency justified its decision to take emergency action in a news release: 

“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately…"

"… pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems. That’s why for the first time in almost 40 years, EPA is using its emergency suspension authority to stop use of a pesticide.” 

Michael Freedhoff, EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. EPA Issues Emergency Order to Stop Use of Pesticide Dacthal to Address Serious Health Risk. US EPA, 08/06/24.

EPA describes the risks of DCPA in the Emergency Order, explaining that the determination of an imminent hazard is based primarily on “a risk of thyroid hormone perturbations in the fetuses of female bystanders and workers who apply DCPA or who enter treated fields after application.”

“In the fetus of exposed pregnant humans, thyroid hormone perturbations… can lead to downstream health problems such as low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ, impaired motor skills, and decreased bone deposition.” 

Emergency Order. US EPA, 08/07/24.

With the immediate stop use order now in place for DCPA, EPA plans to issue a notice of intent to cancel the registrations for this pesticide within 90 days.

Tags: FIFRA, pesticides