"EPA Proposes Phaseout of Fluoride-Based Pesticide"

"U.S. EPA [Tuesday] proposed to start gradually banning a pesticide often used on cocoa beans and dried fruits that degrades to fluoride, a move closely linked to the Obama administration's decision last week to curb the maximum levels of fluoride in drinking water out of concern for children's health.

EPA's bid to wind down legal use of sulfuryl fluoride, citing the health risk to children posed by aggregate fluoride exposure, marks a long-awaited victory by the three public-health groups that first asked the agency to rein in the pesticide more than five years ago.

One of the three advocacy organizations, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), said the sulfuryl fluoride phaseout appears to be EPA's first official granting of any pesticide restriction petition filed by green advocates."

Elana Schor reports for Greenwire January 11, 2011.