The US Environmental Protection Agency yesterday issued an emergency ban on a common weed killing herbicide known as DCPA, the first such emergency order in four decades. The ban stems from a 2023 EPA assessment claiming the chemical can harm prenatal thyroid levels and lead to brain impairment and loss of motor skills.
Dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, also known as Dacthal, is an herbicide used to suppress grass and weed growth around commercial crops like broccoli and onions as well as on golf courses and private lawns. In use since the 1950s, the compound is a preemergent herbicide, attacking growth hormones in the weed's early stages. In its 2023 assessment, the EPA reported pregnant farmworkers handling the chemical are exposed to up to 20 times the safe level of the compound. The substance has been banned in Europe since 2009.
US-based agricultural corporation AMVAC, Dacthal's sole producer, stopped selling the chemical for use on turf in December. The company has yet to respond to the ban.
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