In the EPA’s new attempt to reduce restrictions and regulations on industry, the organization has recently approved the use of PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” on pesticides used on food crops. Yup, that’s right, the already potentially dangerous substances are now allowed to most certainly create health issues in human beings.
According to the EPA, some pesticides contain organophosphates and carbamates that affect the nervous system. Others are carcinogenic, and still others could affect the hormone system or the endocrine system in the body. To be fair, the EPA couches the concern by saying that small amounts of these pesticides present little danger, but they do not address potential build-up in the body over time.
And now we can add PFAS to the mixture. These chemicals have been connected to different kinds of cancer, birth defects and damage to the immune system, as well as other health issues. Bonnie Raindrop, the program director of Maryland Pesticide Education Network expressed her concern about more PFAS being present by saying, “We’re consuming these chemicals.. What guardrails we have are being taken apart systematically, and we are going to be exposed even more to these kinds of chemicals in our food or drinking water.”
Speaking of water, early in November, the EPA filed a motion in federal court to remove parts of the 2024 rule that set limits for PFAS in drinking water. The former Director of Science and Technology in the Office of Water at the EOA, Dr. Betsy Southerland, said, “The impact of these chemicals is clear. We know that this is significant for pregnant women who are drinking water contaminated with PFS, because it can cause low birth weight in children. We know children have developmental effects from being exposed to it. We know there’s an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer with these chemicals.”
Of course there are varying levels of concern, depending whether one is concerned with the environment and human health or is more interested in allowing cheaper pesticides to be produced. One thing that could help all those concerned is find ways to remove PFAS in an inexpensive, effective way, from things like water, in which people don’t have an option but to drink it or use it. One way would be to run water through the IX Water system, which can not only trap and keep PFAS from water, but can also clean lots of other nasty stuff.
To learn more, and to become part of our mission to reduce PFAS in our environment, go to www.StartEngine.com/IX-Water
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/11/22/forever-chemicals-pesticides/
https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-science-and-assessing-pesticide-risks/human-health-issues-related-pesticides
https://www.environmentalprotectionnetwork.org/20251209_pfas-rollback/
EPA Allows PFAS In Agriculture
