Editorial: Extend chlorpyrifos ban

The federal courts can confirm or dismantle a policy through interpretation of the law, but sometimes it’s wise to craft a law carefully to make intentions clear. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz is working to do just that, hoping to make Hawaii’s ban on the chemical chlorpyrifos go national.

Schatz on Monday introduced a bill with the provocative title: The Prohibit Chlorpyrifos Poisoning Students Act. It would prohibit use of the pesticide near schools in 2019; the complete ban on sales and distribution would follow the next year.

Hawaii’s own statewide ban takes effect Jan. 1. The state Department of Agriculture retains the authority to exempt agricultural businesses through the end of 2022.

There was good cause for Hawaii to make the move. The chemical is associated with disruptions in the brain development of babies and young children.

The rise and fall of a federal attempt to ban the chemical prompted Hawaii to take its stand. Under the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency reversed the Obama-era regulation to prohibit chlorpyrifos.

Attorneys-general from several states joined in a case against the EPA that had been filed by an environmental and farmworkers’ coalition. In August, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the EPA, finding that the agency endangered public health by keeping the pesticide on the market.

That case is still on appeal, with the EPA fighting it, tooth and nail. Making the case moot with a federal law would be ideal.