Pesticides containing PFAS are used throughout the country on crops like apples, corn, kale, spinach, strawberries, and wheat.

In the United States, independent testing has revealed high levels of certain PFAS chemicals in pesticides.

A peer-reviewed study published in July 2024 confirms that PFAS are increasingly being added to U.S. pesticide products, contaminating waterways and posing potential threats to human health.

The study's major findings include:

• 14% of all U.S. pesticide active ingredients are PFAS, including nearly one-third of active ingredients approved in the past 10 years.
• PFOA and PFOS, thought to be among the most toxic PFAS chemicals, have been found in some pesticide products, likely from the leaching of fluorinated containers these products are stored in, and other unknown sources.
• PFAS ingredients in pesticide products have been found in streams and rivers throughout the country.
• Pesticides can accumulate PFAS from multiple sources, leading to mixtures of different PFAS chemicals in containers.
• The current U.S. pesticide regulatory framework is not equipped to adequately identify and assess the risks from PFAS in pesticides.

A 2022 study found seven out of ten insecticides contained PFAS chemicals, with one insecticide, Spiromesifen, containing PFOS at a level as high as 19m parts per trillion (ppt), a sharp contrast to EPA's Maximum Contaminant Level Goal of zero ppt.

Currently, there are around 200 pesticide ingredients that are currently registered which qualify as PFAS chemicals. PFAS are also present in the containers which pesticides are stored in, where they eventually leach into the product. About 20% of pesticides are stored in these types of fluorinated plastic.

This is especially concerning to our vulnerable pollinator populations as a recently published study showed that exposure to an extremely small concentration of PFAS can stop all brood rearing, effectively killing the colony.

So, what actions has the EPA taken to protect us from PFAS? In April 2024, they set strict drinking water standards for PFOA, PFOS, and a few other PFAS chemicals. They've also taken steps under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), but not under the Federal Insecticide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), our main pesticide statute. EPA has prohibited a few PFAS pesticide ingredients that are "inert", but has not taken any action regarding the "active" ingredient. The ingredients they have acted on are old and rarely used to begin with. Essentially, they've done nothing to protect us from PFAS in pesticides, and therefore, PFAS in our food system.

That's why we've been hard at work on our first-of-its-kind formal petiton to the EPA. 

Our groundbreaking petition calls on EPA to:

1. Ban PFAS as pesticide ingredients
2. Adopt a broad definition of PFAS chemicals that reflect the current scientific understanding of the class of chemicals
3. Prohibit the use of PFAS-containing containers for pesticide storage
4. Mandate reporting of PFAS contamination from pesticide registrants
5. Prevent future contamination by requiring pesticide manufacturers to submit data specific to PFAS before future registrations can be approved.

The full list of citations for our groundbreaking PFAS petition can be found here.