The EPA has approved the use of sulfoxaflor, a potent insecticide that is toxic to honey bees and other pollinating insects
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himTHEEPA, United States Environmental Protection Agency, definitively approved the use of sulfoxaflor, powerful insecticide toxic to bees. The controversial insecticide is manufactured by DowDupont, chemical company that has contributed a million dollars to President Trump's election campaign.
The EPA approves the use of a toxic insecticide for bees
Use of the sulfoxaflor it had been initially approved by the EPA in 2013 and then prohibited following the complaints brought forward by beekeepers and environmentalists.
in 2015 the US Court of Appeals has ordered the EPA to suspend approval as the manufacturing company was unable to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate the non-toxicity of the product to bees.
Despite the ruling, the government approved the use of sulfoxaflor in emergency situations on 14 million acres and now it has officially approved its use definitively.
The insecticide manufactured by DowDupont, company that has funded Trump's election campaign with one million euros, it can therefore be used on 190 million acres and on a wide variety of crops including cotton, alfalfa, cocoa, cereals, pineapple, citrus, pumpkins, soybeans and strawberries.
La decision of the EPA comes just days after the announcement of the suspension of monitoring of the honey bee population by the United States Department of Agriculture.
According to data released by the Honey Bee colonies project, the number of hives has plummeted from 6 million in 1946 to 2,4 million registered in 2008 and alone 40% of honey bee colonies were lost last year.
In studies conducted on sulfoxaflor, theinsecticide turned out to be highly toxic to pollinating insects at all stages of life and to harm honey bees and bumblebees even in low doses.
The re-approval of the use of sulfoxaflor could therefore have catastrophic consequences for honey bee populations, which do vital agricultural work by pollinating a third of all crops consumed by Americans.
The EPA admits the risk to bees
According to the EPA, the use of sulfoxaflor would present no risk for bees and for pollinating insects.
The Agency claims to have examined i data from insecticide studies and ensures that, if used according to the instructions on the label, sulfoxaflor does not present a danger to human health or to wildlife, including pollinators.
Still according to the Agency, sulfoxaflor would instead represent a effective tool to combat aphids and other plant pests which cause economic losses of up to 50% in agriculture.
The sulfoxaflor would have a minimal environmental impact, as it requires fewer applications and disappears from the environment faster than other insecticides used in crops.
However, the same Agency specifies that farmers will have to notify beekeepers within 1 mile of the treatment area 48 hours in advance application of the product so that they can take protective measures for their bees.
Also, for reduce the risks to bees, applications must be performed at times when pollinators are not active, such as two hours before sunset.
These recommendations actually prove that the danger to bees exists and questions the safety of sulfoxaflor for pollinating insects.
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Tatiana Maselli
