WASHINGTON (AP) — Dow Chemical is pushing the Trump administration to scrap the findings of federal scientists who point to a family of widely used pesticides as harmful to about 1,800 critically threatened or endangered species.
Lawyers representing Dow and two other makers of organophosphates sent letters last week to the heads of three Cabinet agencies. The letters, obtained by The Associated Press, show the companies asked them "to set aside" the results of government studies. Scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency found the pesticides studied pose a risk to nearly every endangered species. Regulators are close to issuing additional limits on how and where the toxic pesticides can be used.
Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris is a close adviser to President Donald Trump. The company gave $1 million for Trump's inaugural activities.