"WASHINGTON — The Trump administration's top environmental official met privately with the chief executive of Dow Chemical shortly before reversing his agency's push to ban a widely used pesticide after health studies showed it can harm children's brains, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt's schedule shows he met with Dow CEO Andrew Liveris on March 9 for about a half hour at a Houston hotel. Both men were featured speakers at an energy industry conference.

Twenty days later Pruitt announced his decision to deny a petition to ban Dow's chlorpyrifos pesticide from being sprayed on food, despite a review by his agency's scientists that concluded ingesting even minuscule amounts of the chemical can interfere with the brain development of fetuses and infants.

EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman said Tuesday that Pruitt was 'briefly introduced' to Liveris at the conference.

'They did not discuss chlorpyrifos,' Bowman said. 'During the same trip he also met with the Canadian minister of natural resources, and CEOs and executives from other companies attending the trade show.'"

Michael Biesecker reports for the Associated Press June 27, 2017. [2]