Lindane is a pesticide that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has decided to ban this August for agricultural use in the United States, yet the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) still approves the sale of Lindane as a medicine to be used on childrens' heads and bodies.
According to the Sun-Sentinel, many people (both health activists and environmentalists alike) are speaking out, and some are beginning to gather signatures for petitions to ban Lindane from medical use as well.
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore City Health Commissioner says, "Lindane is a known cause of seizures and has no role in the routine management of lice or scabies. [The] FDA should re-examine the question of whether it needs to be on the market at all."
Jim Gulliford, who is the assistant administrator at the EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances stated that Lindane "is recognized internationally as one of the most toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative pesticides ever registered."
According to a spokeswoman for the FDA, Kimberly Rawlings stated, "As lindane has been deemed safe and effective for its intended use, [the] FDA does not have any plans to take further action with this product at this time."
