Dow AgroSciences has announced plans to start marketing Enlist Duo, a weed killer, in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Photo: Courtesy of Bidness SETC

The Environmental Working Group is disappointed that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has decided to approve a toxic weed killer known as Enlist Duo, despite opposition from the scientific and public health community.

Enlist Duo, manufactured by Dow AgroSciences, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Company, is a toxic combination of the herbicide 2,4-D and glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup. The EPA's decision means Dow can sell Enlist Duo in conjunction with its new genetically engineered products, 2,4-D-tolerant corn and soybean seeds. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently approved Dow's application to market these seeds.

"The EPA ignored science pointing to the serious health risks – especially to children – associated with 2,4-D," said Mary Ellen Kustin, EWG's senior policy analyst. "Giving a chemical company the green light to bring a known harmful weed killer to market for use on millions of acres of crops puts public health and the environment in danger."

Last summer, 35 doctors and scientists warned the EPA against expanding the use of 2,4-D, highlighting links between pesticide exposure and health problems such as suppressed immune function and greater risk of Parkinson's disease. Later, 50 members of Congress asked EPA and USDA to reconsider their approval of the 2,4-D-tolerant seeds and weed killer.

The USDA estimates that use of 2,4-D will triple by 2020, compared to current usage. EWG research shows that more than 480 elementary schools nationwide are within 200 feet of corn and soybean fields that could be sprayed
with 2,4-D.

"Children who are most vulnerable and susceptible to these toxic weed killers will have an increased risk of being exposed to a defoliant linked to cancer and Parkinson's disease," said Kustin.

In addition to toxicity concerns, increasing the use of weed killers could further escalate the evolution of superweeds resistant to known herbicides.

"This continued arms race between chemical companies and superweeds is a threat to sustainable farming and public health," added Kustin. "EPA's decision to up the ante of Roundup by approving Enlist Duo is unconscionable."

According to Science 2.0, critics have tried to link the new product to Agent Orange, an herbicide used during the Vietnam War, which contained 2.4-D, but that's deceitful, the EPA said. Jones said environmentalists who call 2, 4-D Agent Orange are furthering an "urban myth," since the deadly part of Agent Orange has been banned for years and itself was contaminated. "EPA canceled 2, 4, 5-T, the component of Agent Orange that made it dangerous, in 1985," Jones said.

Opponents also regularly link 2,4-D to a host of human ailments. Panelists at the recent National Products Expo asserted that human exposure to 2,4-D has been linked to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Parkinson's disease, birth defects, reproductive and immune system problems, neurodevelopmental toxic effects and thyroid problems. In particular, research has also indicated that Enlist Duo could pose even more significant health threats to children 12 and under. For more information go to www.DowAgro.com.