The Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency order to suspend the use of a pesticide it said can adversely impact fetuses if a pregnant woman is exposed. 

The emergency action bans pesticide products containing DCPA or Dacthal, which the agency noted is often used to control weeds on agricultural crops, such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts. The weedkiller is also used for non-agricultural purposes on grass and turf in non-residential settings like golf courses and athletic fields. 

In its notice, the EPA said the pesticide can cause “irreversible and life-long impacts” on the fetuses of pregnant women who are exposed to it, including impaired brain development and motor skills. It can also lead to low birth weight in babies, the agency said. 

“DCPA is so dangerous that it needs to be removed from the market immediately,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff said in a press release. “It’s EPA’s job to protect people from exposure to dangerous chemicals. In this case, pregnant women who may never even know they were exposed could give birth to babies that experience irreversible lifelong health problems.”

The EPA said it found that there is no combination of mitigation measures that could prevent the weedkiller from presenting an “imminent hazard,” adding that the hazard would exist during the time in which it would take to conduct administrative hearings on the ban, thus warranting the emergency action. 

The move marks the first time in nearly 40 years the EPA is using its emergency authority to ban the use of a pesticide, Freedhoff said.

The order is effective immediately, the EPA said.