Chlorpyrifos Lawsuits

What is Chlorpyrifos?

Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is a widely used insecticide that works by attacking insects’ nervous systems. Research has shown that people exposed to chlorpyrifos have more than double the chance of developing Parkinson’s disease than those never exposed to chlorpyrifos. The chlorpyrifos exposure may have occurred years or even decades before PD develops.

What Qualifies as Exposure to Chlorpyrifos? Who May Have Been Exposed?

Exposure to chlorpyrifos includes:

People who may have been exposed to chlorpyrifos include:

There is no limit on the time between the exposure and the diagnosis or symptoms. Chlorpyrifos exposure may have occurred many years before Parkinson’s is diagnosed. And Parkinson’s disease begins developing long before symptoms surface, so exposure to chlorpyrifos when CPF was most widely used decades ago could certainly have contributed to the recent development of Parkinson’s disease, parkinsonism, or bradykinesia.

What Is Chlorpyrifos Used For?

Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide that works by attacking insects’ nervous systems. It is used to control unwanted insects on foliage and in the soil— both invasive pests, such as worms, spiders, weevils, grasshoppers, aphids, and beetles, and public health pests, such as mosquitos and fire ants. It is used on crops, golf courses, industrial plants and vehicles, and non-structural wood treatments, including processed wood products, fence posts, and utility poles.

Farmers have been using chlorpyrifos on crops since 1965. It has also been widely used in non-agricultural settings like golf courses. In addition, up until 2000, chlorpyrifos was commonly used in households to control pests such as ants, roaches, and mosquitoes.

Chlorpyrifos has been used on crops including fruit and nut trees, row crops, and grains, such as:

Some other chlorpyrifos usage facts and numbers:

• By volume, chlorpyrifos is most used on corn and soybeans, with more than a million pounds applied annually to each crop.
• More than half of all apples and broccoli in the United States are sprayed with chlorpyrifos.
• Between 1987 and 1998, 21 to 24 million pounds of chlorpyrifos were used in domestic applications.
• From 2009 to 2015, the amounts of chlorpyrifos used each year in California alone ranged from more than 1,100,000 pounds to nearly 1,500,000 pounds.

Some common brand-name chlorpyrifos products are:

• There is no safe level of chlorpyrifos in drinking water.
• Pesticide drift reaches unsafe levels at 300 feet from the field’s edge.
• Chlorpyrifos is found at unsafe levels in the air at schools, homes, and communities in many agricultural areas.
• All workers who mix and apply chlorpyrifos are exposed to unsafe levels of the pesticide even with the use of maximum personal protective equipment and engineering controls.
• Field workers are allowed to re-enter fields within 1–5 days after pesticide spraying, but the unsafe exposures continue on average for 18 days after applications.

Chlorpyrifos Bans and Restrictions

In August 2021, the EPA issued a final rule banning all food uses of chlorpyrifos. Permission to use chlorpyrifos on most food crops was revoked in 2022 by the U.S. EPA because of concerns related to dietary exposure, especially for children. However, the following year certain food uses were reinstated following legal challenges. Regulatory updates are ongoing.

Several states, including California, Hawaii, and New York, have banned or are considering banning chlorpyrifos.

Corteva, Inc., formerly Dow Chemical—the largest producer of chlorpyrifos in the United States—stopped selling the chemical in 2021.

Chlorpyrifos Lawyers

If you or a loved one were exposed to chlorpyrifos and now have Parkinson’s disease or parkinsonism and are on PD medications or have bradykinesia, contact us to discuss filing a chlorpyrifos lawsuit.  The consultation is free.  You pay nothing unless you win your case and receive compensation.