Trump officials set to approve ‘forever chemical’ as pesticide ingredient | Pfas
The Trump administration is set to reapprove a new Pfas “forever chemical” pesticide ingredient; The move is drawing criticism from public health advocates who say the nation’s food and water supplies are becoming more at risk from dangerous compounds.
The substance will be sprayed on corn, soybeans and wheat and represents the fifth Pfas pesticide ingredient that the US Environmental Protection Agency has recommended for approval under Donald Trump’s second term as US president.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump and his ally and current health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr promised to rein in the use of dangerous pesticides, but the EPA has relaxed oversight and is accelerating pesticide approvals. friction Between Maga and Maha (movements to make America great again and make America healthy again).
Scientists have raised alarms about Pfas in pesticides in recent years, but the EPA has continued to improve the ingredients since Trump took office, said Nathan Donley, science director at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity.
He noted that the announcement comes as the administration is cutting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) benefits as part of the ongoing government shutdown.
“But the pesticide office is kind of operating at full strength,” Donley said. “That tells you where the priorities are.” Most pesticide and chemical safety offices were not furloughed.
PFAs are a class of approximately 16,000 compounds most commonly used to make products water, stain, and oil resistant. It has been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a number of other serious health problems. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down naturally in the environment.
The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to a 2023 analysis of EPA data, at least 60% of active ingredients approved for use in commonly used pesticides in the past 10 years fit the most widely accepted definition of Pfas, and about 40% overall.
The chemical is used as an active ingredient in pesticides to kill weeds, insects or fleas on pets. When included as inactive ingredients, Pfas are likely to be used as surfactants and help disperse or absorb chemicals.
The newest ingredient, called epirifenacil, corruption It is converted into a smaller, forever-lasting chemical called trifluoroacetic acid (Tfa).
The EPA’s move comes just months after Maha groups were outraged over the lack of action on pesticides included in the Trump administration’s Commission on Making America Healthy Again report. It highlighted the limits of Kennedy’s influence in an administration filled with former pesticide and chemical industry lobbyists and executives.
The top four positions in the new Trump EPA’s chemical safety office, which includes the pesticide division, are held by former pesticide and chemical industry lobbyists, and advocates say the pesticide division has long been in existence. taken over by industry.
It also underscores the gap between Republican leaders and voters, said Kelly Ryerson, a Maha leader and advocate for regenerative agriculture. evidence showsoverwhelmingly supports stronger limits on dangerous pesticides.
“I’m a big supporter of Kennedy and the Maha movement, but the realistic view is that he wasn’t appointed to head the EPA, so it’s frustrating to watch some of this be passed or proposed,” Ryerson said.
Four of the five pesticides proposed for approval this year have active ingredients that convert to Tfa, a compound that is considered Pfas by the definition used by the vast majority of governments, scientists and regulatory agencies around the world.
In recent years, the EPA has created an unusually narrow definition of what constitutes Pfas, excluding Tfa and other similar chemicals. Advocates argue that the EPA narrowed the definition largely at the behest of the pesticide and chemical industry.
A new EPA web page It claims that the pesticide’s safety has been extensively reviewed and states that Tfa is not a persistent chemical or hazardous. This matches industry claims regarding Tfa’s safety, but latest research found that it is more toxic than previously thought and likely damages reproductive systems similarly to other Pfas.
In recent years researchers alarmed With the ever-increasing level of Tfa in the air, Thishuman blood and elsewhere in the environment. It may take thousands of years for the compound to completely break down in the environment.
The compound is particularly problematic because it cannot be filtered from water by most filtration methods and can easily move in the environment through water or in the atmosphere. Recent studies have found higher levels of Tfa in water near where the Tfa pesticide is spread and at higher levels In non-organic foods, this suggests that it is taken up by crops.
Donley said TFA “will be around for generations to come.” “For my great-grandchildren, that’s what we’re talking about here.”
Ryerson issued a warning to elected officials who support the pesticide industry.
“People are very aware of what makes them sick in terms of pesticides,” he said. “Congress needs to step in or they won’t be able to win legitimately, especially with the younger generation calling them out now.”
