The EPA has known for many years that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — nicknamed "forever chemicals" — are incredibly harmful to human and environmental health. Yet despite statements to the contrary, a new study found that PFAS levels in EPA-regulated pesticides aren't decreasing. They're growing.
What's happening?
A key finding of the study, reported by the Center for Biological Diversity in a press release, was that 14% of active ingredients in U.S. pesticides are PFAS — including many that were approved within the last decade. It also found that these chemicals are lurking in waterways around the country.
But most concerning, says the CBD, is that the EPA approved these toxic ingredients even knowing their implications. And the current pesticide regulatory framework, it says, is "not equipped to adequately identify and assess the risks from PFAS in pesticides."
The study was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Why are PFAS so concerning?
"This is truly frightening news," said Nathan Donley with the CBD. "Lacing pesticides with forever chemicals is likely burdening the next generation with more chronic diseases and impossible cleanup responsibilities."
"Toxic PFAS have no place in our food, water or homes, posing a serious threat to our health and environment," echoed David Andrews, Ph.D. with the Environmental Working Group. "PFAS [contamination] not only endangers agricultural workers and communities but also jeopardizes downstream water sources, where pesticide runoff can contaminate drinking supplies."
Kyla Bennett, a former EPA official who left the agency to join the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, spoke to the Guardian about the news.
"We should be eliminating PFAS from all products, but particularly pesticides because you're spraying them on crops, and there's not a more direct way to expose the population than that," she said. "We should not be going in this direction."
The dangers of PFAS on human health include damage to the immune system, increased risks of certain cancers, damage to internal organs, pregnancy and birth risks, and more, per the CDC.
"I can think of no better way to poison people and the environment than to spray PFAS-laden pesticides on our crops and in our homes," Bennett said. "The blame for this contamination crisis lies squarely on EPA's shoulders."
What's being done to address this?
The CBD proposed a new and more rigorous regulatory framework for the EPA. But making these changes will be long and laborious, and even if they were introduced and enforced, years of irreparable damage would occur in the meantime.
As individual consumers, one of the most effective ways to keep yourself and your family safe is to purchase food from local farms — or even to grow it yourself — to minimize the exposure to harmful commercial pesticides. You can also educate yourself more about PFAS from resources like Food & Water Watch's deep dive on the concealment of PFAS as well as sign petitions and donate to nonprofits such as F&WW and Bennett's new home, PEER.
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