Corteva to stop making the insecticide chlorpyrifos

Corteva Agriscience will end production of the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos this year. Demand for chlorpyrifos has dwindled since the late 1990s, when the US Environmental Protection Agency began reassessing the human health risks of all organophosphate insecticides. In 2016, use of chlorpyrifos in the US fell below 2.3 million kg, from a peak of about 6 million kg in 1994, according to the US Geological Survey. In October 2019, Corteva struck a deal with California regulators to phase out the sale of chlorpyrifos by Feb. 6 and end nearly all uses of the pesticide in the state by the end of 2020. California was the biggest US market for chlorpyrifos, representing 12–22% of US sales, according to estimates from the US Department of Agriculture. Demand for the pesticide took another hit when countries in the European Union voted in December to end sales of chlorpyrifos in the EU after Jan.