Washington — Citing health risks to workers and unborn children, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken action to immediately stop the use of the weed killer dimethyltetrachloroterephthalate.

An emergency order issued on Aug. 6 suspends all registrations of the pesticide — also known as DCPA or Dacthal — under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1947. The move is the first of its kind in nearly 40 years, following “several years of unprecedented efforts by the Biden-Harris administration to require the submission of long-overdue data” related to the pesticide, the agency said in a news release.

“DCPA is so dangerous that it must be removed from the market immediately,” Michal Freedhoff, deputy director of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said in the press release.

DCPA is used as a weed killer in agricultural and non-agricultural settings and is commonly used on broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions.

The EPA warns that pregnant women exposed to DCPA, even if they don’t know it, may have a negative impact on fetal thyroid hormone levels, potentially causing irreversible effects such as low birth weight, impaired brain development and motor skills, and lower IQ.

A May 2023 risk assessment by the agency found several health risks associated with the use and application of DCPA, “even when personal protective equipment and engineering controls are used,” the press release said. In addition, the EPA estimates that pregnant women handling DCPA products could be exposed to levels four to 20 times higher than what is considered safe for unborn children.