EPA moves to reapprove twice-banned herbicide despite health risks

(NaturalHealth365)  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to bring back dicamba, an herbicide that federal courts have banned twice.  While herbicides are a type of substance designed to kill weeds, they carry the same health risks as other agricultural chemicals.  Despite clear evidence of health risks from chemical exposure, the EPA announced plans to reregister this drift-prone herbicide for genetically engineered cotton and soybean crops.

The timing couldn’t be worse.  Just as scientists are documenting the devastating health effects of agricultural chemicals, regulators are opening the door to yet another toxic compound.

The growing health crisis

Chemical exposure isn’t just an occupational hazard for farmers anymore.  These chemicals show up in our food, water, air, and even our bodies.  The average American carries detectable levels of multiple agricultural chemicals, creating a toxic cocktail with unknown long-term effects.

Cancer rates tell the story.  Farmers and agricultural workers develop lymphoma, leukemia, brain tumors, and prostate cancer at much higher rates than the general population.  The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has labeled multiple pesticides as probable carcinogens.

Children get hit hardest.  Their developing brains can’t handle chemical assault.  Studies keep finding connections between chemical exposure and autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, and lower IQ scores.  Pregnant women exposed to these chemicals have more miscarriages, birth defects, and premature babies.

Then there’s the hormone disruption.  Many pesticides and herbicides disrupt your endocrine system, interfering with thyroid function, reproductive hormones, and blood sugar control.  This helps explain rising rates of diabetes, infertility, and early puberty in kids.

What happens when herbicides go airborne?

While most herbicides have some capacity to drift, dicamba takes this problem to an extreme level.  This herbicide loves to travel, evaporating off treated fields and drifting for miles on wind currents – staying airborne for up to 72 hours.

That means entire communities become unwilling test subjects.  Families living near treated fields report breathing problems, eye irritation, and skin reactions.  Kids playing outside, people gardening, anyone spending time outdoors gets exposed, whether they like it or not.

Emergency room visits spike in areas with heavy dicamba use.  Doctors see more cases of respiratory distress, especially dangerous for people with asthma.  The herbicide has earned the distinction of causing “the most extensive drift damage in U.S. agricultural history.”

Specific health risks include respiratory and skin irritation, potential endocrine disruption affecting hormones, neurological effects like headaches and dizziness, and concerning associations with liver cancers and leukemia found in epidemiological studies.

The accumulation problem

What is most concerning is that these chemicals don’t just pass through your system.  They accumulate in fatty tissues, your liver, and even your brain.  What seems like minor exposure today becomes part of a growing toxic burden that can trigger health problems years later.

Scientists find pesticide residues in breast milk, blood, and urine samples across America.  Your body is storing these chemicals, and nobody really knows what happens when you mix dozens of different pesticides together inside human tissue.

Who’s really making these decisions?

Here’s where the dicamba decision gets really troubling.  Just weeks before the EPA announced this proposal, Kyle Kunkler took over pesticide regulation at the agency.  His previous job?  Lobbying for the American Soybean Association, which has pushed for dicamba approval despite widespread crop damage.

Kunkler spent years fighting restrictions on chemicals like glyphosate and atrazine – the same pesticides linked to chronic illness in children.  This is an industry capture of the regulatory process.

Fight back now

The EPA opened public comments until August 22, 2025.  This matters because agencies have to address substantive concerns raised during comment periods.  Public opposition has stopped bad decisions before.

Your voice counts whether you’re a worried parent, healthcare worker, or concerned citizen.  Make your comment detailed and specific about health concerns.  You can visit this regulations.gov link to submit your comment.

Protect your family today

While fighting regulatory battles, take immediate action to reduce your family’s chemical exposure:

Choose organic foods when possible, especially for high-residue crops.  The “Dirty Dozen” list identifies fruits and vegetables with the highest pesticide residues that are most important to buy organic.

Filter your water.  Many pesticides contaminate groundwater and municipal water supplies, so a quality carbon filter can remove these chemicals before they enter your body.

Support your liver with cruciferous vegetables and antioxidant-rich foods.  Broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts contain compounds that boost your liver’s natural detoxification pathways.

Get adequate sleep and manage stress – both are crucial for your body’s natural detox systems.  Poor sleep and chronic stress impair your body’s ability to process and eliminate toxins effectively.

Every step you take to reduce toxic exposure helps your body function better and protects your long-term health.

Your body works constantly to protect you from environmental toxins, but it needs support in today’s chemical-heavy world.  Get lifetime access to the Whole Body Detox Summit, featuring 27 scientists, doctors, and nutritionists sharing powerful insights on detoxification, eliminating toxins, and natural healing protocols.   Own the complete summit now and take control of your health today.

Sources for this article include:

Regulations.gov
Childrenshealthdefense.org
Usrtk.org

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