Pesticide Poses Danger in Home, Agencies Warn
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WASHINGTON — An agricultural pesticide is being increasingly used illegally to kill household insects, posing serious and growing health concerns, officials said.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry warned about misuse of the pesticide methyl parathion after it was found last month to have been sprayed illegally in scores of homes in Mississippi.
“EPA will not tolerate the danger to public health caused by such flagrant and illegal use of pesticide,” said EPA Administrator Carol Browner on Thursday.
The two agencies said there are signs of “an emerging national pattern of illegal misuse” of the pesticide, which is supposed to be used outdoors for agricultural purposes.
Known as “cotton poison” because it often is used to kill pests in cotton fields, it is so toxic that farmers can’t return to the fields for two days after use.
But the EPA said increasingly it is being used to kill roaches and other insects in homes.
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