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Out of concern for bees, the Environmental Protection Agency announced on May 20 that the registrations for 12 neonicotinoid-based products used as pesticides in agriculture would be canceled, according to a notice on the Federal Register. The companies that registered the pesticides, including Syngenta, Valent, and Bayer, voluntarily requested the cancellations as part of a settlement agreement with environmental groups in December 2018, reports Bloomberg Environment. The companies may continue to sell and distribute existing stock of the products until 2020, according to the notice.
The 12 products are among a total of 59 that contain the neonicotinoid ingredients clothianidin and thiamethoxam, according to Bloomberg. Neonicotinoids are systemic chemicals, meaning that when absorbed by a plant they can spread through the entire organism and are sometimes toxic to insects that feed on it.
The settlement in December 2018 was related to the Endangered Species Act, according to ...
