Chlorpyrifos: Checking the Statistics

When I began my research, the one statistic I had to check was that fruits and vegetables contained 140 times the amounts safe for 1–2 year old (1). Was it sensational or based in science? I’m good at what I do, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I did find a lot of interesting studies but not that. I finally wrote the author of the op-ed piece; I didn’t get an answer from him, but I got one from his research assistant who gave me the precise source of the statistic.

Sure enough, page six of the EPA report (2) listed the claim of 140 times the safe amount—except that was not exactly what the EPA found in fruits and vegetables. It was a hypothetical amount that applied to the 100th percentile of potential intake. I spent several days and examined dozens of related articles just to figure out how the number was derived. What I can tell you is that it does not reflect what the exposure may be on the fruits and vegetables children or adults actually consume.

I found that number because every year, the USDA publishes a summary of the pesticides found on and in foods as part of the Pesticide Program (3). This report is the basis for the Environmental Work Group’s Dirty Dozen vegetables and fruits you shouldn’t eat. I examined the data for chlorpyrifos, and here’s what I found:

9,843 samples of 19 fruits and vegetables were analyzed
84 samples contained chlorpyrifos
1 sample out of 84 exceeded the EPA tolerance levels

The amounts actually tested by the EPA did not come close to what was reported in the op-ed piece or what was published in the Registration Review by the EPA Committee. But I found a lot more than that, and I’ll get to that on Saturday

What are you prepared to do today?