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A worldwide dispute over the threat to bees posed by the class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, took a dramatic turn in early September, when a U.S. court overturned federal approval for a new formulation called sulfoxaflor. Judges found that the EPA had relied on “flawed and limited” data, and its green light was unjustified given the “precariousness of bee populations”.
As a result of the U.S. decisions, rules in the U.S. and European Union are in bizarre contradiction. The U.S. has approved most neonicotinoids while now banning sulfoxaflor.
But the EU has banned most neonicotinoids for use on flowering crops and spring sown crops since 2013, but approved sulfoxaflor in July on the basis that it would not have any unacceptable effects on the environment.
Related on the SLP
Environmentalists and bee-keepers’ associations who brought the legal action believe the U.S. ruling could turn the tide against neonicotinoids in general. Campaigners told New Scientist that the same criticisms of the quality of research highlighted by the court applied to the three other neonicotinoid pesticides: clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid.
Neonicotinoids have grown popular for protecting fruit, vegetables and arable crops against boring and biting pests, including aphids and beetles. But they have been widely accused of harming bees and other pollinators. The U.S. court found that the EPA, after initially asking Dow for more studies on these sub-lethal effects, eventually granted approval for the pesticides without them.
Read full, original post: Bees win as US court rules against neonicotinoid pesticide
