Banning Dursban

"What's in a name? If it ends in "ban," watch out.

In June, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially began the process of removing two of the most widely used pesticides in the U.S., Dursban and Lorsban, from the consumer marketplace. The toxic products will be phased out of stores and wholesale warehouses over the next two years due to what the EPA cites as potential nervous system and brain damage to young people. The ban was made under the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, which requires the EPA to restrict a pesticide's use if it poses a threat to children.

Technically speaking, Dursban is an organophospate insecticide and a member of a class of chemicals developed during World War II to attack the nervous system. Chlorpyrifos can cause headaches, seizures and even death. Dursban is found in everything from flea collars to garden and lawn chemicals, while Lorsban - also made with chlorpyrifos - is used to protect crops."

Read the article