The US Environmental Protections Agency’s (EPA) decision to approve the use of the insecticide sulfoxaflor has been overturned by a San Francisco-based federal appeals court, which ruled that the substance could be toxic to an already struggling bee population.
According to the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Examiner, a three-judge panel at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the EPA’s decision to improve sulfoxaflor two years ago “was based on flawed and limited data,” was “not supported by substantial evidence,” and could hasten an already “alarming” decline in the number of honey bees in the US.
Following their ruling, sulfoxaflor, an insect neurotoxin produced by Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences and typically used on citrus, cotton, fruit, and nut trees, cannot be used until EPA officials conduct additional testing to determine whether or not it is safe to use. Initial research had reportedly already demonstrated that the insecticide was toxic to honey bees.
“Bees are essential to pollinate important crops and in recent years have been dying at alarming rates,” Judge Mary M. Schroeder wrote for the three-judge panel. She and her colleagues added that “given the precariousness of bee populations, leaving the EPA’s registration of sulfoxaflor in place risks more potential environmental harm than vacating it.”
EPA had ‘no real idea’ how harmful sulfoxaflor was to bees
Environmental law firm Earthjustice, representing a coalition of trade groups and beekeepers which included the American Honey Producers Association and American Beekeeping Federation, challenged the use of sulfoxaflor (sold under the brand names Closer and Transform) in December 2013.
In its decision, the court rules that the EPA recognized the threat that the insecticide posed to bees, but decided that those risks could be mitigated by rules limiting applications – a decision that the judges determined has been made without “any meaningful study.” Without “sufficient data,” they said, the EPA “has no real idea” how harmful it could be to honey bees.
“Our country is facing widespread bee colony collapse, and scientists are pointing to pesticides like sulfoxaflor as the cause,” Greg Loarie, lead council for Earthjustice, said in a statement after the verdict. He called the decision “incredible news for bees, beekeepers, and all of us who enjoy the healthy fruits, nuts, and vegetables that rely on bees for pollination.”
In a statement of its own, Dow AgroSciences, which was allowed to join the case on the side of the EPA, said that it “respectfully disagrees” with the 9th Circuit’s ruling regarding sulfoxaflor. It also said that it intended to “work with EPA to implement the order and to promptly complete additional regulatory work to support the registration of the products.”
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Feature Image: Thinkstock
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