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Lindane should have been banned in the U.S. years ago. Fifty-two other countries have banned this 1950s-era insecticide, and it will soon be added to the list of chemicals targeted for a global ban under the international POPs Treaty, because it is a "persistent organic pollutant" known to persist in the environment, build up in our bodies and travel the globe.

The health effects of lindane are well understood - as a neurotoxin, it can damage the nervous system and undermine the immune system. Scientists believe it can also cause cancer and disrupt the human hormone system, among other effects.

Somehow lindane has slipped through the regulatory cracks in the U.S., and it is still used today to coat the seeds of wheat, corn and several other crops, as well as in shampoos and lotions to control lice and scabies.

Take Action Now -- EPA is accepting public comments through April 10th

Lindane's waste and breakdown products are also harmful, and these are the chemicals that pollute our bodies. Recent government studies found lindane breakdown products in the blood of more than half the U.S. population, and scientists have found these chemicals in samples of human breastmilk around the world. People living in the Arctic are especially at risk, since lindane and its by-products migrate to northern latitudes.

EPA is asking for public comments on its revised assessment of lindane's use in agriculture. In response to comments from PANNA and our partners in the Ban Lindane Now! campaign, they are now for the first time considering the health effects of lindane's breakdown products, as well as exposure to infants from breastmilk and Indigenous peoples in the Arctic who rely on traditional foods.

For more information about lindane, see:

• PANUPS: EPA Revises Views on Dangerous Pesticide Lindane
• PANNA's Ban Lindane Now! campaign pages


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