Toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” are increasingly making their way into pesticide products in the United States via multiple pathways, directly contaminating waterways and potentially harming human health, according to the findings of a study.
PFAS are manmade chemicals that break down very slowly over time in both the environment and the bodies of humans and animals. The chemicals have been linked to multiple health issues, including cancers, liver damage, and immune disorders. Despite their known health risks, PFAS are widely used throughout the United States on staple foods such as corn, wheat, kale, spinach, apples, and strawberries, as well as in insect-killing sprays and flea treatments for pets.
Researchers at the Center for Biological Diversity, the Environmental Working Group, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility compiled data on both “active” and “inert” ingredients included in pesticides through multiple public records requests to state and federal agencies in the United States and Canada, as well as via publicly accessible databases.
Active ingredients are the primary components in pesticide products that kill or suppress pests, while inert ingredients are all the other substances added to the pesticide product, including emulsifiers, solvents, carriers, aerosol propellants, fragrances, dyes, and others.
Researchers identified a particularly troubling trend: Among the 471 conventional pesticide active ingredients approved for use in the United States by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 14 percent are PFAS, including nearly one-third of the active ingredients approved in the past decade.
Of the 11 EPA-registered inert ingredients in pesticides, eight were also PFAS, including the nonstick chemical commonly known as Teflon, researchers said.
Some pesticide products were found to contain perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), which are believed to be among the most toxic PFAS chemicals and have largely been phased out of production in the United States, according to the authors.
The study authors said PFOA and PFOS were likely found in pesticides because of the leaching of the chemicals from fluorinated storage containers and other sources.
Study Findings ‘Truly Frightening’
“This is truly frightening news because pesticides are some of the most widely dispersed pollutants in the world,” Nathan Donley, the Center for Biological Diversity’s environmental health science director, said in a statement. “Lacing pesticides with forever chemicals is likely burdening the next generation with more chronic diseases and impossible cleanup responsibilities. The Environmental Protection Agency needs to get a grasp on this fast-emerging threat right away.”The Environmental Working Group said in a statement that PFAS not only endanger agricultural workers and communities but might also contaminate drinking supplies, posing further threats to human health.
The study authors concluded that regulatory shortcomings are preventing accurate identification and quantification of the risks posed by forever chemicals in pesticides.
They recommended that U.S. regulators provide better oversight of PFAS pesticides by discontinuing the practice of fluorinating plastic containers and requiring identification of all “inert” ingredients on pesticide labels.
They also recommend regulators require enhanced immunotoxicity testing for both active and inert PFAS ingredients, among other things.
“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,” Kyla Bennett, science policy director for the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said. “The blame for this contamination crisis lies squarely on the EPA’s shoulders.”
EPA officials didn’t respond by publication time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
