Last week, the California Department of Pesticide Registration (CDPR) issued a revised risk assessment for chlorpyrifos, an insecticide commonly known as Dursban and Lorsban, and announced a process to consider additional restrictions on the chemical.

The CDPR also issued voluntary guidelines asking chlorpyrifos users to increase the buffer zones between fields treated with the insecticide as well as inhabited areas such as schools and residential areas.

Earlier this year, the federal government denied a petition from environmentalists calling for a chlorpyrifos ban.  NAAA had submitted comments to keep chlorpyrifos on the market for aerial application and joined dozens of other agriculture groups in signing a letter to EPA Administrator Pruitt outlining the benefits of the insecticide.

NAAA considers the EPA’s decision a win for science and the ag community. Originally registered in the U.S. in 1965, chlorpyrifos has played a key role in pest management. Today it is registered for use in almost 100 countries and has passed the extensive U.S. reregistration process required under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) several times.

Earlier this summer, bills were introduced in both the House and Senate to ban chlorpyrifos nationwide. The bills have been referred to their respective committees but no action is expected to be taken on either of them. The ag industry views these bills as an attempt to circumvent the EPA’s regulatory process.

California previously restricted the use of chlorpyrifos in 2015 by naming it a “restricted material.” This required licensing, training and oversight by county agriculture commissions. It also increased buffer zone requirements and banned its use near schools when winds exceed 10 miles per hour.

California, the largest agriculture producer in the United States, used more than 1 million pounds of chlorpyrifos on more than 60 crops in 2015.