U.S. Senate bill would ban pesticide linked to developmental disabilities from school meals

A bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate that would prevent schools from serving food that was sprayed with a pesticide linked to developmental disabilities in children, The Hill reports. 

Introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the Safe School Meals for Kids Act would prohibit schools from serving food that contains any amounts of detectable chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that studies have shown can cause alterations in brain structure and cognition, especially among children. 

The EPA banned the use of chlorpyrifos residentially in 2001 but has not banned it outright. Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ordered the EPA to remove the pesticide from use within 60 days of the court ruling. The Trump administration appealed the ruling, and the court decided to hear the appeal. The court rehearing the case has not released a decision. 

Read the full story via thehill.com.