Natural Resources Defense Council v. United States Environmental Protection Agency

POOLER, Circuit Judge:

The pesticide dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate (“DDVP” or “dichlorvos”) is used to kill many types of insects. Depending on the level of one’s exposure to dichlorvos, the pesticide also may disrupt proper functioning of the human nervous system. To determine safe levels of exposure to dichlorvos for certain exposure scenarios, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) relied heavily on a single study in which six people were paid to ingest a dose of the pesticide every day for three weeks. After the study detected an adverse effect, EPA used the study to attempt to…