A Mexican ban on nearly three dozen pesticides and herbicides that took effect in September will have little practical effect because it omits some of the country’s most widely used hazardous chemicals, scientists and experts in environmental health say. In a decree published Sept. 4, the Mexican government banned the use, production, sale or importation of 35 chemicals, effective immediately. The restrictions are the most extensive since Mexico banned 21 pesticides and herbicides in 1991. These included DDT, which was prohibited in the United States in the 1970s. Julio Berdegué Sacristán, Mexico’s secretary of agriculture and rural development, told reporters the restrictions were “part of a wider strategy to have much cleaner, much more sustainable, safer agriculture.” But experts contend the ban ignores dozens of dangerous chemicals and does little to bring Mexico closer to the standard of more stringent jurisdictions, such as the European Union. “This just aligns Mexico... [Log in to read more]