WASHINGTON, DC — The Environmental Protection Agency (美国环保署) 表示将在美国停止使用硫丹，据称 美联社.这种杀虫剂已在 60 个国家/地区被禁止使用，但在澳大利亚仍在使用。自 2002 年以来，美国一直限制使用硫丹；生产现在将由北美制造商 Makhteshim Agan 逐步淘汰（玛娜). MANA 正在与 EPA 讨论制定计划的细节，该计划将随着时间的推移逐步淘汰硫丹的使用，同时为种植者提供转向其他害虫控制措施的选择。
The insecticide, used on cotton and some fruits and vegetables, has been said to cause nerve damage in farm workers through inhalation or skin contact, as well as present a hazard to wildlife. Endosulfan, first registered in the 1950’s, is marketed exclusively by MANA under the brand names Thionex 3EC and Thionex 50W. MANA will announce the final timetable for Thionex to producers and agrochemical retailers in the coming weeks.
两年前，几个工人和环保倡导者团体起诉 EPA 重新注册硫丹。
In a press release, Raleigh, North Carolina, US-based MANA stated: “From a scientific standpoint, MANA continues to disagree fundamentally with EPA’s conclusions regarding endosulfan and believes that key uses are still eligible for re-registration,” said Scott Rawlins, MANA director of global governmental and industry relations. “The Agency has made a number of overly conservative and unrealistic assumptions about how endosulfan is used that do not reflect the best available science.
“However, given the fact that the endosulfan market is quite small and the cost of developing and submitting additional data high, we have decided to voluntarily negotiate an agreement with EPA that provides growers with an adequate time frame to find alternatives for the damaging insect pests currently controlled by endosulfan,” Rawlins said.