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Greenpeace says it is unbelievable that New Zealand continues to use a herbicide now banned in Australia and the United States.

In August, the United States took the unprecedented step of banning Dacthal herbicides, or DCPA, used to control weeds in vegetable crops, citing possible irreversible harm to unborn children.

It was the first time in forty years that the U.S. EPA urgently stopped the use of chemicals because of the potential harm they can cause to a developing fetus.

Australia now follows the United States in completely banning the use of products containing dimethyl chlorthal.

Following the US ban, the New Zealand Environmental Protection Authority reviewed the use of dacthal and introduced stricter rules regarding its application, but dropped the ban.

Greenpeace executive director Russell Norman said the EPA should immediately stop using it.

“It’s outrageous that the New Zealand EPA is allowing the use of these chemicals. When you look at the conditions they apparently place on the use of these chemicals, you’re sort of supposed to know if you can or not be pregnant if you’re a farmworker, and then you have to somehow avoid going to a farm that in the previous five days may have used these chemicals.

“I just think it’s completely irresponsible to put farmworkers in this position where they have to make decisions about a chemical that everyone is banning,” he said.

Norman said he would write to the EPA to ban the use of dacthal here, but he doubts he will succeed.

Chlorthal dimethyl is not widely used in New Zealand and Norman said for this reason a ban would have little effect and should be easy to implement.

He said that in the United States, DCPA is widely used and banning its use would have significant impacts for vegetable growers, but the United States EPA nevertheless decided to ban it.

The Environmental Protection Authority has been contacted for comment.