This week, the EPA approved pesticides that contain molecules with carbon-fluorine bonds, which can be very strong and therefore difficult to break down over time.
“They’re all breaking down into things that are going to stick around forever,” said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
He added that the chemicals are considered “forever chemicals” under a definition put forward by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
“Forever chemicals” is the nickname of a family of chemicals also known as PFAS that can remain in the environment for a very long time instead of breaking down.
In addition to their persistence, many PFAS have been linked to health issues including cancer, immune system problems and fertility issues.
However, definitions for which chemicals fall under this umbrella can vary, with the OECD, an organization that seeks to set international standards, taking a broader approach, while the EPA has a narrower definition.
The EPA said that under its definition, the pesticides it approved are not PFAS.
“It was the Biden EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics that, after a comprehensive public rulemaking process in 2023, officially defined PFAS as chemicals containing two or more fluorinated carbons,” said an agency spokesperson, who did not sign their name in a statement sent to The Hill.
“That exclusion of single-fluorinated-carbon compounds was deliberate, grounded in extensive scientific evidence and public input showing that molecules with only one fluorinated carbon lack the persistence and bioaccumulation properties that all PFAS exhibit,” the spokesperson added.
They said that the newly approved chemicals “are each single-fluorinated-carbon compounds. By the prior administration’s own regulatory definition, they are not PFAS.”
Read more at TheHill.com.
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