"'Forever chemicals' are present in multiple common pesticides, according to new testing conducted by an environmental watchdog group and released exclusively to E&E News.
The findings, described as 'deeply concerning,' raise a host of public health concerns — including implications for food safety — and could trigger pressure on EPA to address the issue. The agency has faced repeated scrutiny over pesticides in the past, with the latest findings already adding fuel to the fire.
The testing done by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — a class of chemicals tied to a wide range of health concerns, including cancer — in a handful of publicly available herbicides and insecticides.
It is unclear how the PFAS are getting into the pesticides, and whether manufacturers are intentionally adding the chemicals, as opposed to accidental contamination from equipment used to manufacture or transport the pesticides."
E.A. Crunden and Ariel Wittenberg report for E&E News March 5, 2021.
