Organophosphate poisoning
Organophosphate pesticides are one of the top causes of poisoning worldwide, with an annual incidence of poisonings among agricultural workers varying from 3-10% per country.
Food Quality Protection Act
The restrictions on these pesticides, although mandated on the premise of child safety, were not received unanimously well by groups outside the EPA. Both agriculture representatives and environmentalists sounded off after the EPA made its decisions. "Chemical Business News" published an article suggesting that the idea that pesticides pose special dangers for children was actually an alarmist issue not based in science. Agriculture lobbies claimed that the banning of organophosphates would cause the agriculture industry an annual loss of $1.8 billion. Environmentalists argued that the EPA was buckling under the pressure of these lobbies and needed to uphold the legal safety standard mandated in the FQPA. In response the EPA published a report saying that they stood by their decisions and the 10 fold safety increase was both conservative and prudent and was only applicable under special circumstances.