Tell Congress to protect bees, people, and our planet from toxic pesticides!

The EPA is allowing Dow to poison bees, people, and our planet by allowing the use of the brain-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos.

The good news: Congress is considering a bill to ban chlorpyrifos. This is a key step to protect people and pollinators. But your Representative won’t act without hearing from you!

Dear Representative {user_data~Rep Last Name}:,

As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to cosponsor H.R.230-Ban Toxic Pesticides Act of 2019, which would ban chlorpyrifos, a highly toxic nerve agent pesticide known to cause brain damage in children.

Chlorpyrifos was developed as part of a class of chemicals developed from nerve gas used by Nazi Germany. Exposure is linked to Parkinson’s disease, lung cancer and brain damage in children. It was banned for home use in 2000, but it is still widely used in agriculture to grow our food. After years of study, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that there are no safe levels of exposure and was set to ban all uses of this pesticide in 2015. However, the EPA reversed the decision in 2017.

The science is clear: there are no safe uses of chlorpyrifos. Prenatal exposures to this chemical are associated with reduced IQ, loss of working memory, attention disorders and delayed motor development. Farmworkers and people living in agricultural communities, particularly children, are disproportionately affected by this toxic pesticide. Whenever chlorpyrifos is sprayed, it can pollute the environment and have detrimental effects on bird, bee, fish and amphibian populations.

In its latest risk assessment of chlorpyrifos, EPA scientists determined that:
·	All food exposures exceed safe levels, with children ages 1-2 exposed to levels of chlorpyrifos that are 140 times what the EPA deems safe. 
·	There is no safe level of chlorpyrifos in drinking water. 
·	Chlorpyrifos is found at unsafe levels in the air at schools and homes in communities in agricultural areas. 
·	All workers who mix and apply chlorpyrifos are exposed to unsafe levels of the pesticide, even with maximum personal protective equipment and engineering controls.

There are effective alternatives for pest management that won’t poison our children, farmworkers or rural communities.

Given federal inaction, states have started to ban chlorpyrifos. In 2018, Hawaii became the first state to ban chlorpyrifos. In 2019, the New York legislature passed a bill banning chlorpyrifos and California announced a ban and is moving forward with a plan that includes $5.7 million to support farmers to transition to safer alternatives. In March 2020, Maryland became the latest state to ban chlorpyrifos.

It is imperative that Congress step-up and help protect the American people from this toxic pesticide. 
Please cosponsor H.R.230-Ban Toxic Pesticides Act of 2019 to demonstrate that you prioritize the interests of the American public over Dow’s corporate profits. 
 
Thank you,
{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State} {user_data~Postcode}

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