California may restrict common pesticide

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — California farmers who spray a widely used insecticide on some of the state’s most abundant crops may soon have to overcome the nation’s steepest restrictions or find another pest killer, officials said Thursday.

Regulators are proposing heavy restrictions — but not an all-out ban — on chlorpyrifos, used to treat crops like grapes and almonds. The pesticide, in use since 1965, has sickened dozens of farmworkers in recent years. Traces have been found in waterways, threatening fish, and regulators say overuse could make targeted insects immune to the pesticide.