Newly released internal agency documents reveal that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allowed pesticide giant Bayer to select from a range of regulation options for the weedkiller dicamba. The documents detail how the EPA solicited Bayer's input on restrictions for dicamba volatility and runoff, subsequently incorporating Bayer's choices into a proposed federal rule.
Bayer reportedly chose the least protective option for one regulation and a middle level of protection for another. The company also secured an additional requested change in the rule. Dicamba is known for its drift problems, damaging vegetation and crops, and has been linked to liver cancer and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Nathan Donley, environmental health science director with the Center for Biological Diversity, which is involved in litigation concerning dicamba, stated that this exchange revealed in the documents is "crossing a line." An EPA spokesperson, in a statement to the Guardian, maintained that this process represents the "regulatory system working exactly as intended," adding that companies are "permitted to submit mitigation ideas that preserve their product’s utility."