Hawaii Governor David Ige Photo: 2018 Getty Images
Hawaii has become the first US state to prohibit pesticides containing the chemical chlorpyrifos.
Following years of lobbying and negotiations, Hawaii's senate signed into law a bill to ban chlorpyrifos which has been linked to a range of developmental problems in children.
It is already banned in other parts of the world, including Europe.
The new law requires all uses of resticted-use pesticides to report annually to the Department of Agriculture, and a mandatory buffer zone near schools.
The bill goes into effect next year, with a three-year extension to allow companies to apply for a permit to use chlorpyrifos, before a complete ban comes into force.
Hawaii Governor David Ige signed the bill into law Thursday afternoon to much applause.
"OK Senate Bill 3095, senate draft one, house draft one, conference draft one. A bill for an act relating to environmental protection is now law in the State of Hawaii, as Act 45," he said.
But not every one is happy about the law.
Hawaii's Board of Agriculture told local media that mandatory record keeping and annual pesticide reports are excessive and will require more staff.
Meanwhile, the US Environmental Protection Agency's administrator, Scott Pruitt, has refused to finalise a federal level ban on chlorpyrifos.
