EPA issues emergency ban of weedkiller Dacthal, citing risks to unborn children

[crimsonaudio]

The US Environmental Protection Agency has issued an emergency suspension of the common weedkiller DCPA, also known as Dacthal, it said Tuesday, the first time the agency has used its emergency suspension authority in 40 years.

The last emergency ban of this kind was of the pesticide ethylene dibromide, or EDB, in 1983.

Dacthal is used to control weeds in agricultural and non-agricultural settings, the EPA says. It’s commonly applied to grasses, artificial turf, crops including strawberries, cotton and field beans and vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions.

The agency cited “serious risks” to unborn babies of pregnant women who are exposed to the chemical including living in or around areas where Dacthal has been used. Some pregnant people who handle DCPA products could be exposed to levels that are four to 20 times higher than what the EPA considers safe for unborn babies.

EPA issues emergency ban of weedkiller Dacthal, citing risks to unborn children

 

[mdb-tpet]

Surprise! A life killing chemical doesn't just hurt plants. Where have I heard this before...

 

[jthomas666]

Will the Supreme Court have to sign off on the decision? (Half sarcastic, half legit question)

 

[Tidewater]

Here is my weed killer:

Although this summer mother nature has done a pretty good job of killing everything in my yard.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

I hate doing any sort of landscaping work. If my wife would agree to it, I would lay down some astroturf over the entire lawn and call it good.

 

[Bamaro]

I hate doing any sort of landscaping work. If my wife would agree to it, I would lay down some astroturf over the entire lawn and call it good.

One of the of the usages listed for this included artifical turf.

 

[Jon]

I hate doing any sort of landscaping work. If my wife would agree to it, I would lay down some astroturf over the entire lawn and call it good.

plant clover, takes over everything and is still green without needing anything.

 

[Go Bama]

plant clover, takes over everything and is still green without needing anything.

Everyone in my neighborhood has Bermuda lawns that look like Augusta National. I have fescue, KY bluegrass, Bermuda, clover, crabgrass, dandelions, crabgrass, and so on. I set the deck of my mower at 4 inches so it mows over most of the clover. I’m convinced this is why we have more wildlife in our yard than the neighbors. Bees love the clover.

 

[mdb-tpet]

Everyone in my neighborhood has Bermuda lawns that look like Augusta National. I have fescue, KY bluegrass, Bermuda, clover, crabgrass, dandelions, crabgrass, and so on. I set the deck of my mower at 4 inches so it mows over most of the clover. I’m convinced this is why we have more wildlife in our yard than the neighbors. Bees love the clover.

We have entire sections of our lawn that rotate through different wild flowers for months of the year, and we do the same thing. As soon as I see flowers, I stop mowing that section. It's fantastic.

 

[Jon]

Everyone in my neighborhood has Bermuda lawns that look like Augusta National. I have fescue, KY bluegrass, Bermuda, clover, crabgrass, dandelions, crabgrass, and so on. I set the deck of my mower at 4 inches so it mows over most of the clover. I’m convinced this is why we have more wildlife in our yard than the neighbors. Bees love the clover.

I've lived in this house for 20 years. The first ten my neighbor directly across the street was the head groundskeeper at one of North Atlanta's nicest private golf courses. His yard was a literal putting green. I know it caused him massive heartburn to see mine. My point to him was "yours is so nice no one looks at mine"

 

[Bamaro]

Everyone in my neighborhood has Bermuda lawns that look like Augusta National. I have fescue, KY bluegrass, Bermuda, clover, crabgrass, dandelions, crabgrass, and so on. I set the deck of my mower at 4 inches so it mows over most of the clover. I’m convinced this is why we have more wildlife in our yard than the neighbors. Bees love the clover.

Bermuda grass is considered a weed around here (MD) and to the north.

 

[Its On A Slab]

Bermuda grass is considered a weed around here (MD) and to the north.

Bermuda is a tropical grass, isn't it? I mean, I doubt it could survive in Maryland winters.

I wish St. Augustine could grow here in the Midwest.

 

[Bamaro]

Bermuda is a tropical grass, isn't it? I mean, I doubt it could survive in Maryland winters.

I wish St. Augustine could grow here in the Midwest.

It grows too well here and is another form of 'crabgrass'.

 

[Its On A Slab]

It grows too well here and is another form of 'crabgrass'.

I kind of liked it at my house when I lived in Dothan. I had a mixture of bermuda and centipede, and centipede was a lot more hardy and easy to grow. Bermuda has a nice color, though.

Weird: The chemicals that kill those nasty bahiargrass: the one you use on centipede kills bermuda, and vice versa.

All we have here in the Midwest is fescue and bluegrass, and a helluva lot of weeds that I don't bother to worry about.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Bermuda is a tropical grass, isn't it? I mean, I doubt it could survive in Maryland winters.

I wish St. Augustine could grow here in the Midwest.

I have St. Augustine here (probably because I live near St. Augustine). This is my first single family house. Never really paid much attention to types of grass because I never had my own lawn before five years ago. St. Augustine grass is iffy. Shortly after the house was built and we moved in, we started having problems with bugs and fungus(?) that attacked large swaths of the lawn. One of the reasons I agreed to the large landscaping projects on both sides of the house is because I didn't want to replace the grass after the first time. The grass in the front is finally looking good (with one small dead patch) and the back, which is a slope down the pond, has a decent sized dead patch that is slowly shrinking. I would cover all of the grass with creative landscaping if I was allowed.

 

[Its On A Slab]

I have St. Augustine here (probably because I live near St. Augustine). This is my first single family house. Never really paid much attention to types of grass because I never had my own lawn before five years ago. St. Augustine grass is iffy. Shortly after the house was built and we moved in, we started having problems with bugs and fungus(?) that attacked large swaths of the lawn. One of the reasons I agreed to the large landscaping projects on both sides of the house is because I didn't want to replace the grass after the first time. The grass in the front is finally looking good (with one small dead patch) and the back, which is a slope down the pond, has a decent sized dead patch that is slowly shrinking. I would cover all of the grass with creative landscaping if I was allowed.

Yeah, I know St Augustine can be a little buggy and harder to maintain. It just feels so good when you walk on it barefoot. Like carpet. Reminds me of home.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Yeah, I know St Augustine can be a little buggy and harder to maintain. It just feels so good when you walk on in barefoot. Like carpet. Reminds me of home.

Yeah, it is pretty and very nice when it's right. Like a high maintenance girlfriend.

 

[crimsonaudio]

Yeah, I know St Augustine can be a little buggy and harder to maintain. It just feels so good when you walk on it barefoot. Like carpet. Reminds me of home.

Man, I grew up with St Augustine (and worked in landscaping in FL in HS/college) - I'd describe Zoysia as carpet-like, but those wide St Augustine blades are typically pretty hard in comparison. Not super pleasant to walk around on, but it looks nice.

 

[AUDub]

Surprise! A life killing chemical doesn't just hurt plants. Where have I heard this before...

it’s been banned for Ag for a while so folks had some inkling this was potentially bad.

 

[AUDub]

When we first bought out house mowing the front yard basically amounted to mowing weeds. On top of that we had a dying 20 foot dogwood that didn’t help matters.

About 2 years after we moved in I got sick of it and had a guy start treating. That helped what little Bermuda we had to retake control. I finally took down the dogwood, ground the stump down and (worrying about shade) threw down about 100 feet of emerald zoysia. In hindsight I wish I hadn’t and had just gone with Bermuda. The zoysia is nice but it is THICK, requiring frequent aeration and being slower to green in the spring than the Bermuda.

Still, it’s a lawn that I can keep fairly well manicured.