EPA Revokes Approval of Dow Chemical's Enlist Duo Herbicide -- Update

By Jesse Newman 

The Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn approval for a Dow Chemical Co. herbicide designed to be used on genetically engineered crops, saying it has new information that suggests the weedkiller is more toxic to surrounding plants than previously thought.

The move comes just over a year after Dow's Enlist Duo herbicide, which includes a new formulation of the chemical 2,4-D, was sanctioned by the environmental agency for use in six states, enabling Dow to start selling corn and soybean seeds that have been genetically modified to withstand sprays of the herbicide blend.

Shares of Dow Chemical fell 2.7% to $51.92 in late-morning trading in New York.

Following the EPA's approval of Enlist Duo, several environmental-advocacy groups including the Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice sued the agency, arguing it had failed to adequately consider the pesticide's effects on endangered plants and animals.

The EPA said new information, which Dow hadn't provided to the agency before Enlist Duo's approval, could lead it to a "different decision" about restrictions for farmers' use of the herbicide.

Garry Hamlin, a spokesman for Dow, said Wednesday that the company is confident in the data supporting Enlist Duo.

"We are working with EPA to quickly provide further assurances that our product's conditions of registered use will continue to protect the environment, including threatened and endangered plant species," he said. "We expect that these new evaluations will result in a prompt resolution of all outstanding issues."

"The decision by EPA to withdraw the illegally approved Enlist Duo crops is a huge victory for the environment and the future of our food," said George Kimbrell, a senior attorney for the Center for Food Safety.

Enlist Duo and supporters of the herbicide argued that the new version of 2,4-D, a decades-old chemical, is safer for farmers and neighboring crops than older versions, and is badly needed by farmers who have been combating fast-growing weeds that have developed defenses against glyphosate, a widely used weedkiller sold by Monsanto Co. as Roundup. Enlist Duo combines 2,4-D and glyphosate.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 25, 2015 12:07 ET (17:07 GMT)

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