CALIFORNIA — The California State Assembly passed a legislative moratorium on approvals of new PFAS pesticides, while a separate proposal to ban PFAS pesticides failed to pass. This action followed a review of California Department of Pesticide Regulation and United States Geological Survey data, which found that pesticides classified as PFAS were present in approximately half of tested California waterways.
Regulators found the highest PFAS pesticide concentrations in agricultural areas in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. The review involved analyzing stream samples from 10 California counties. The pesticide bifenthrin was detected in all sampled waterways in San Luis Obispo County and in over 80% of tested water samples in Stanislaus County.
Varun Subramaniam, a report co-author at the Environmental Working Group, said, "The findings are alarming but not surprising." Subramaniam said, "The results are almost certainly an undercount because of the limited scope." PFAS chemicals are a class of at least 16,000 compounds frequently used to make products resistant to water, stains, and grease. California farms applied an average of 2.5 million pounds of PFAS per year on cropland between 2018 and 2023. PFAS pesticides are associated with health problems, including cancer.
Subramaniam said, "The fact that the chemicals are permitted is largely because we are not considering all the ways that they can harm us." State pesticide laws do not require manufacturers to evaluate immunotoxicity, reproductive harm, or hormone disruption for PFAS substances. The California Farm Bureau said, "The proposed legislation is an overly broad and unworkable approach that departs from science-based regulation." The organization argued that the legislation would place state farmers at an economic disadvantage with minimal public health benefits.
The legislation passed by the Assembly mandates that pesticides carry warnings for farmers regarding PFAS health and environmental risks. Susan Little, California legislative director for the Environmental Working Group, said, "Advocates are disappointed the ban did not make it into the final bill, but the bill, if approved by the state senate, will continue to address and reduce the use of Pfas pesticides in California."