New research shows disturbingly high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, or PFAS, in widely used pesticides. When the pesticides are sprayed on plants, the chemicals enter the food supply through contaminated soils.
New research has documented disturbingly high levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in widely used pesticides.
These findings contradict previous statements by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that PFAS are not used in registered pesticide products and has prompted Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) to urge that EPA act immediately to ban the use of any pesticide containing PFAS.
Published this week in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters the study, “Targeted Analysis and Total Oxidizable Precursor Assay of Several Pesticides for PFAS,” found:
- PFOS (one of the two legacy PFAS that is no longer manufactured in the United States) in 6 out of 10 tested insecticides at incredibly high levels, ranging from 3,920,000 to 19,200,000 parts per trillion (ppt). By contrast, this June EPA updated its Health Advisory for PFOS to 0.02 ppt.
- These PFAS are being taken up into the roots and shoots of plants, which means that they are entering our food supply through contaminated soils. Given that PFAS are “forever chemicals,” this contamination will last long after PFAS is removed from pesticides.
- A non-targeted PFAS analysis indicates that there are far more additional unknown PFAS in 7 out of 10 tested insecticides.
“If the intent was to spread PFAS contamination across the globe there would be few more effective methods than lacing pesticides with PFAS,” stated PEER Science Policy Director Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney formerly with EPA, noting that one of the pesticides containing PFAS is malathion, one of the most commonly applied insecticides in the world.
“These findings point to an appalling regulatory breakdown by EPA.”
On Sept. 1, EPA moved to remove 12 PFAS from its approved list of inert ingredients for pesticides. Its announcement stated that “these PFAS are no longer used in any registered pesticide products … ” However, this new study demonstrates that the PFAS problem in pesticides goes far beyond the inert ingredients.
This contamination does not spring from contaminated barrels but from the ingredients of the pesticides themselves, possibly added as dispersants to aid in the even spreading of the agents on plant surfaces.
“This research has alarming implications that demand immediate regulatory action: EPA must test all pesticides, and immediately ban the use of pesticides that contain PFAS,” added Bennett, arguing that EPA can no longer rely on voluntary manufacturer testing.
“The level of absorption by plants suggests that a person could absorb a lifetime dose of PFAS from eating one salad made with produce treated with these pesticides.”
Moreover, the study’s detection of unknown PFAS suggests that many of the PFAS being found fall outside the very narrow definition that EPA is developing for regulatory purposes.
PEER has been urging EPA to address all PFAS, as a category, rather than continuing its present chemical-by-chemical approach for the hundreds of PFAS currently in use and the unknown number of these chemicals in development.
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The rain is full of micro plastics. You can’t escape
I just focus on the small things. Glass containers when I can. Wood and steel cooking implements. Avoiding processed foods. Picking the garbage up that blows on my land so it wont eventually wind up in the animals. Those kinds of things.
Mason jars are the best thing ever. Wood cookware can be tricky, much of it comes from China or Vietnam and contains who knows what. Can’t go wrong with glass, it’s sand. As far as clothing try to get made in USA or Italy. China is spraying formaldehyde on clothing, especially bras. It’s a carcinogen.
Same here. I have stopped worrying about every little contaminant that I can’t control. I do what I can and depend on God to protect me from the rest.
Those are the least of your worries. Especially compared to this insanity.
Noble farmer is a myth from the past, let me tell you. Its workaday profits for most of them, and it is the only way the system is set up to be profitable for most of them. Nobody works for free. If niche farmers using healthy and sustainable methods were the majority, the whole civilizational paradigm would break down.
It will come eventually, and I suspect some powers that be are hedging their bets by herding some of us into it. We just have 26 acres we own, and I have my work cut out for me for 5 years before we are fully operational. I remember working a 2600 acre ranch in Iowa and there were 4 full time employees and 6 hired hands in the summer and 2 in the winter. I worked there for 2 years. But 26 by myself from scratch is a big job. I hope to add on to it, but most of the adjoining land is going to take years of work to renovate even renting. I can make a good income from it eventually, but it is hard hard work and most Americans have gone soft.
But I am tired of not being healthy and food is medicine.
So far this year I have learned how to work and repair all kinds of things, the basics of woodworking, how to identify dozens of grasses, plants, weeds, trees, and how to operate various implements I have never used before. I have learned a lot about cutting down trees and grinding them up, and I could probably write a lot more on all I have learned. I have also got rocky mountain spotted fever, 12 stiches on my thumb joint and tore a shoulder and been absolutely ravaged by chiggers. But my torn knee finally healed up, and I am off all of my meds and generally feeling more content and at peace than I ever have. I have made some friends and found Christ and I feel like I finally found the end of the rainbow with what I am able to do. As a disabled veteran it is funded by fiat, but I am blessed to have the opportunity to work for myself and community and have a fallback for when it all goes bust.
Maybe I shoulda been a cowboy after all. I’ll settle for this and feel blessed. I don’t like tractors or machines, but by golly I am learning how to work and fix a lot of em.
PFAS is an under rated threat. I wish it was more avoidable than it is, but I see glass containers making a come back. I just learned a lot of fruit is coated in “vegetable petroleum”. I eat a lot of fruit and it improves my health, but I look forward to growing our own not coated and infested with poisons. I can live with low yield and high labor.
I am full of forever chemicals, as a USAF aircraft pnuedraulics specialist I made many hundreds of stainless braided Teflon hoses. The hose cutter had a beveled toothless circular saw blade, basically wore through the braid while unleashing a shower of white hot sparks and burned Teflon . . . and no exhaust fan !!! Not to mention the neurotoxic tri cresyl phosphate additives used in the hydraulic fluid and jet engine oil. And the firefighting foam that filled the hangar when the system was periodically tested. Does the VA test for any of this . . . NOPE !!!
Farmer’s markets are the way to go. Supermarket food all comes from corporations.
A lot of farmers market stuff does to. They bring it in from truck farms, raise the price and sell it. Watch for non-perfect stuff. If you have ever gardened you know what I mean. If that tomato is picture perfect, it was probably commercially grown. If it is lopsided and cracked around the stem area, it is probably homegrown.
Yes. Know your farmer, know your food.
I looked into having a booth in farmers markets around here. They are becoming more and more strict and regulated. This mostly by the people who put them on. For instance the fda rules. It used to be the organizers let the official food police take care of checking etc., but now they righteously police you. Karens. One small town was looking to make each booth have a business license- not sure if this was accomplished. I was really surprised at the hoops.
I know several people who started their own little markets on their property. I traded fruit with one though she was willing to pay.
They passed a food law here wher you can sell food products you make on your own property- only from your property (How kind of them). No mention of the internet in the law, very weirdly. This means unpasteurized apple juice for instance. Of course the helpful, caring, nonprofit food people are trying to make rules. However I’m going to start selling salsa and barbecue sauce from home- was going to do apple cider but our crop was way down.
Anyone have an auto donut maker to sell? Cider donuts would be a big draw, but the makers are expensive.
You need to think about that one person who gets sick that’s looking for some easy cash. Even if it isn’t from your products they’ll be more than happy to sue you. For all you doing this when I had my hobby farm I purchased a million (probably wasn’t enough) dollar liability insurance through my home insurance. You’d be surprised how cheap it is. Even if you aren’t selling products you should look into it.
grow as much as you absolutely can yourself and for anything else keep it local and again as much as possible through personal connections. farmers markets can be good, but aren’t by themselves always a sure bet. many vendors there just bring in industrial produce and sell for the profit of the percieved improvement , to customers who dont pay attention. Even at a farmers market you need to get to know those vendors and only after a long time you might say you have some kind of relationship.
to the fellow who has 26 acres all his own, damn, i wish i did!
but even if you only have a couple acres as do i, do what you can with it, every bit helps.
They love poisoning us. Why would the bastards and whores stop?