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Children who live and go to school near farm fields where pesticides like chlorpyrifos are used show blood levels well above normal, and have higher rates of neurological problems as a result.

The saga of this pesticide, which has the unwieldy name chlorpyrifos, is a stark reminder of why so many Americans are alarmed about industrial farming and the food supply.

Bennett said she was surprised to find detectable amounts of chlorpyrifos because farmers were supposed to have stopped applying the pesticide.

The EPA effectively banned another organophosphate pesticide, chlorpyrifos, in 2021, based in part on evidence linking it to ADHD, autism and reduced IQ in children.

Currently, the EPA has a chance to improve regulations as it rewrites a ban on chlorpyrifos on food, which was overturned by a court on a technicality.