Organophosphates Are Toxic, But the EPA Hasn’t Banned Them

Earthjustice has brought a suit against the EPA on behalf of farmworker and public health groups for failure to respond to a petition calling for the agency to ban organophosphate pesticides¹. The suit was filed June 25, four years after Earthjustice filed the petition urging the agency to take action against the use of this dangerous class of pesticides.

The Risks of Organophosphate Pesticides

Organophosphates (OPs) have been linked to behavioral problems in children and, at high levels, are lethal to farmworkers and those in farm communities. In 2021, at least 25 children in India were killed from consuming contaminated rice, soybeans, and lentils². And the list goes on — in Uganda, nearly 1,600 deaths were linked to the pesticide between 2017 and 2022³. This year, the South African government banned organophosphate terbufos following the death of six children who had eaten contaminated snacks⁴.

“Farmworkers are the first to face harm, but close behind are people, including children, who live or attend schools near treated fields, or visit ‘pick-your-own’ farms where crops are treated with pesticides,” said Dr. Jennifer Sass, Senior Scientist at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). 

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Even Low-Level Exposure Can Cause Harm

Even low-level organophosphate exposure has been shown to harm brain development in children. A 2010 study in Pediatrics found a link between the presence of organophosphates in children’s urine and the risk of developing ADHD⁵.

“The EPA recognized a decade ago that organophosphates can impair children’s learning and behaviors, but the government keeps dragging its feet,” said Patti Goldman, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “Our children deserve long-overdue EPA action so they don’t suffer preventable harm.” 

And that’s not the only risk of low-level exposure. A 2025 study in Environment International showed that organophosphates could have a negative effect on gut microbiota, which could lead to linked issues including mood disorders and metabolic disease⁶. A 2025 study in Genes & Diseases found a link between organophosphate exposure and male infertility⁷, and a 2016 study in Acta Neurologica Scandinavica found a link between organophosphate exposure and the risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease⁸.

What Are Organophosphates?

Organophosphates were originally derived in Germany in the 1940s from World War II nerve agents (we know, it’s exactly as bad as it sounds). Today, they are widely used as pesticides on strawberries, citrus, peaches, and wheat. 

They’re not the first pesticides to draw attention for their dangerous effects, and they won’t be the last — we’ve covered how pesticides wreak havoc on our bee population, cause degenerative disorders, and have been linked to cancer. Understanding these risks is critical if we want to take control of our health, and it’s what Earthjustice aims to do on our behalf with this lawsuit.

Which Organophosphates Are We Talking About?

About 40 organophosphates are still approved for use in the United States, but most of the studies on their toxicity have focused on chlorpyrifos, which has historically been one of the most widely used of these pesticides in the U.S. The EPA banned chlorpyrifos in 2021 following a challenge filed by Earthjustice⁹, but the ban was overturned on appeal in 2023. 

Today, chlorpyrifos can still be used on 11 crops in the U.S., including fruits like apples, oranges, peaches, and cherries (nearly all of which are items that made the EWG’s Dirty Dozen list of produce with the highest pesticide exposure). To give you a sense of how much the EPA truly is dragging its feet, chlorpyrifos has been banned in the UK since 2016, in the EU and Thailand since 2020, and in Canada since December 2023.

In 2024, the EPA proposed phasing out another organophosphate, acephate, due to concerns regarding drinking water contamination¹⁰. Despite this proposal, a plan to do so has yet to materialize.

“Considering the fact that EPA’s own scientists have publicly expressed concern about EPA risk analyses for organophosphates not adequately addressing exposures to infants and children, it is unconscionable that the EPA continues to regulate OPs based on industry’s economic interests rather than sound, health-protective science,” said Margaret Reeves, Ph.D., senior scientist at Pesticide Action and Agroecology Network.

Sources:

1. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025.06.25-op-mandamus-petition.pdf
2. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/130718-organophosphates-pesticides-indian-food-poisoning
3. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/report-links-1-600-deaths-to-pesticide-poisoning-4441718
4. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/officials-ban-toxic-product-that-caused-widespread-food-poisoning-we-will-now-likely-see-the-deaths-of-children-from-this-poison-decline-rapidly/ar-AA1HMYRA
5. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article-abstract/125/6/e1270/72448/Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity-Disorder-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext
6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016041202500220X
7. https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/260403?returnurl=https://www.alphagalileo.org/en-gb/Item-Display/ItemId/260403
8. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ane.12707 
9. https://earthjustice.org/press/2023/in-shocking-decision-8th-circuit-sends-chlorpyrifos-food-use-ban-back-to-epa
10. https://earthjustice.org/press/2024/epa-proposes-banning-toxic-food-pesticide-over-drinking-water-concerns

Tags: organophosphate pesticide pesticide contaminated food pesticide poisoning