Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, rejected a ten-year-old petition that asked the EPA to ban all uses of chlorpyrifos which is used at approximately 40,000 farms in America, on crops including almonds and apples. In 2000, the chemical — manufactured by Dow Chemical — was banned for use in most household settings. Subsequent research determined that “prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos (CPF), an organophosphate insecticide, is associated with neurobehavioral deficits in humans and animal models.” Dow Chemical argues that the science is inconclusive.
In December 2016, elect-President Donald Trump announced that Dow Chemical Company’s Chairman and CEO Andrew Liveris would head the American Manufacturing Council. At the time, Trump said Liveris is “one of the most respected businessmen in the world.” The Australian-born businessman living in Michigan said at the time that the $56 billion company will invest in “a new state of the art innovation center.”
