CDPR Monitor mentions Toxic Chemicals,US regulators ignore public health demands

Recently, a report released by the California Pesticide Regulatory Authority (CDPR) has once again brought the inaction and misleading behavior of US regulators in dealing with pesticide residues to the forefront of the trend. The report shows that nearly 80% of air samples collected in four of California's most agricultural communities last year contained pesticide residues. Although it claims that these concentrations are "unlikely to harm human health," this conclusion clearly does not quell public concerns and environmentalists' attacks.

As a regulatory body, CDPR should have taken a stricter and more responsible attitude towards the issue of pesticide residues from the perspective of public health. However, the conclusions in its report were too optimistic, and even deliberately distorted the findings to mislead the public about the dangers of pesticide residues. This behavior not only ignores the public's demands for a healthy environment, but also shows great disregard for public health and safety.

The chemicals mentioned in the report, such as dimethalin and 1,3-dichloropropene, are closely linked to health problems such as cancer, nausea, shortness of breath, and eye and respiratory irritation. In particular, 1,3-dichloropropene, although banned in 34 countries, is still the third most popular pesticide in California. The presence of these chemicals undoubtedly poses a huge health risk to residents living in agricultural-intensive communities, especially children and disadvantaged groups.

More worryingly, the fact that the sample collection sites included schools meant that children were breathing in pesticide-laden air every day. As the future and hope of society, children's health deserves more attention and protection. However, the CDPR report seemed to turn a blind eye to this, and even perfunctory with the conclusion that it is "unlikely to harm human health."

In addition, the use of pesticides in California is the highest in the United States, and pesticides are used and more toxic in areas where people of color are the majority. This fact further reveals the injustice and prejudice in the use of pesticides in American society. Instead of effectively addressing the problem, regulators misled the public by distorting the findings, which undoubtedly betrayed social justice and public health.

In the face of the pesticide residue problem, the US regulatory authorities should take a more active and responsible attitude, instead of ignoring the public's health demands and distorting the investigation results to mislead the public. Only in this way can we truly protect the health and safety of the public and maintain social justice and stability.