Dacthal Weed Killer Suspended Over Health Risks to Unborn Babies
Editors carefully fact-check all Drugwatch.com content for accuracy and quality.
Drugwatch.com has a stringent fact-checking process. It starts with our strict sourcing guidelines.
We only gather information from credible sources. This includes peer-reviewed medical journals, reputable media outlets, government reports, court records and interviews with qualified experts.
Following years of questions over its potential health impacts, Dacthal pesticide’s registration has been suspended following an emergency order from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA, which has not issued an order of this kind in nearly 40 years, took action over concerns about the health of unborn babies in pregnant women exposed to Dacthal, also known as DCPA.
“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately,” Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in an EPA statement. “It’s EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems.”
The emergency order against Dacthal, which is manufactured by AMVAC Chemical Corporation, took effect immediately.
Dacthal is one of several pesticides raising health concerns in the United States. Ongoing litigation alleges Roundup caused cancer and paraquat caused Parkinson’s disease in people exposed to the popular weed killers.
What Are the Health Concerns of Dacthal Exposure?
According to the EPA, exposure to Dacthal could result in changes to fetal thyroid hormone levels, which can lead to low birth weight, impaired brain development, decreased IQ and impaired motor skills in babies after birth.
Dacthal is mostly used on crops like brussels sprouts, onions, broccoli and cabbage. The EPA estimated that pregnant women who handle Dacthal products could be exposed to levels four to 20 times greater than what is considered safe for unborn babies.
The EPA released an assessment in May 2023 that uncovered health risks associated with the use and application of Dacthal, even if a person took preventive measures, such as wearing safety equipment.
Dacthal’s Potential Impact on Fetal Thyroid Development Leads to Ban
The EPA’s historic move to issue an emergency order of this kind for the first time in decades can be traced back to 2013.
That year, the agency issued a data call-in requiring AMVAC to submit studies to support its registrations of Dacthal. As part of this process, the agency requested data related to the pesticide’s potential impact on thyroid development.
Nearly a decade later, the EPA issued a notice of intent to suspend one Dacthal product after AMVAC failed to submit all of the data that the agency had requested.
The EPA went on to briefly suspend registration in 2023 but lifted that order when AMVAC submitted the requested data. That same year, the agency released an assessment of the potential health risks tied to the pesticide.
It followed up with a public warning of the potential risk to unborn babies in April 2024.
According to the EPA, the Aug. 6, 2024, Dacthal ban took effect immediately because a standard cancellation process could have been too lengthy given the immediate health risks.
Weed Killer Lawsuits Amplify Health Concerns
The Dacthal emergency order comes on the heels of ongoing litigation involving several other types of weed killer.
Numerous lawsuits against Roundup have been filed after studies uncovered a potential link between its active ingredient glyphosate and an increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania jury awarded $2.25 billion to a plaintiff who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after he used Roundup for 20 years. A judge later lowered the verdict to $400 million.
People are also suing manufacturers of paraquat over claims that the weed killer caused Parkinson’s disease. As of Aug. 1, 2024, more than 5,700 paraquat lawsuits were pending.