A fellow named Neil Stevens over at Red State made this alarming claim:
There's more Argon in our atmosphere than anything other than molecular Nitrogen and Oxygen, and then Water. So now the science deniers in the Obama EPA are banning Argon. [Red State]
It's true, argon is common! It has important industrial uses as well — as an inert shielding gas, for certain lasers, and for neon and fluorescent lights. So if the EPA were banning it altogether, that would be bad news. Luckily, Stevens' claim is utterly false.
Here's what's really happening. As EPA Assistant Administrator James Jones explains in this letter, the EPA is responding to petitions from California Attorney General Kamela Harris and others who asked for new labeling of pesticide ingredients. The EPA rejected the petition and instead offered a compromise proposal (not an official regulation yet). They looked through the list of inert ingredients that are generally approved for use in pesticide formulations, picked only the ones that aren't used anymore, and propose to remove them from the list. If someone wants to use them again, they'll have to go through the normal approval process. That gives some protection from poisoning at a minimum of hassle.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As the summary states: "EPA is proposing to remove certain chemical substances from the current listing of inert ingredients approved for use in pesticide products because the inert ingredients are no longer used in any registered pesticide product." Not only is this about the use of argon only in pesticides, nobody even uses the gas for that anymore!
Rest assured, welding industry, your argon is safe. As for Mr. Stevens, he should have given this claim a second look.
-
August 30 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump's role reversal and King George III
-
5 bullseye cartoons about the reasons for mass shootingsCartoons Artists take on gun worship, a price paid, and more
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US FedTalking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
