FRESNO – Environmental and farmworker groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency to try to outlaw the use of a pesticide related to DDT, which was banned in 1972.

A spokesman for the nonprofit legal firm Earthjustice says endosulfan is “so nasty” it is already banned in the European Union and Cambodia. It is used on cotton, potatoes, tomatoes and apples to control whiteflies, aphids and other insects.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco Thursday maintains the pesticide is toxic to fish and other aquatic wildlife and that exposure to it can cause fetal development problems and low sperm counts in humans.

Earthjustice attorneys say traces of the chemical have been detected in Sierra Nevada lakes and on Mt. Everest.

A state study released last year suggested a link between autism and exposure to organochlorine pesticides like endosulfan.