In trying to remove PFAS (forever chemicals with established and sever long term health impacts) from the environment, a key vector is substances that come into contact with food, water and soils. Many pesticides are known to have large amounts of PFAS chemicals and are sprayed both in agricultural and residential settings causing huge risks across sectors.
House Bill 386 would have phased out the pesticides with high concentrations of PFAS. However, amendments to this bill to redefine the chemical structure of what constitutes a "PFAS" forced bill supporters from environmental and civic groups to work against the bill in fear that redefining what is and is not a forever chemical had wide reaching implications in PFAS regulation both in Maryland and across the country - threatening to undo established rules on firefighting foams and the EPAs recent sweeping ruling on PFAS in water.
The result has been bittersweet - the hijacked bill has failed to pass, but pesticides with high levels of PFAS continue to be widely used. We are proud to be part of the Smart on Pesticides Coalition
Read up on this bill at Maryland Matters
House Bill 386 would have phased out the pesticides with high concentrations of PFAS. However, amendments to this bill to redefine the chemical structure of what constitutes a "PFAS" forced bill supporters from environmental and civic groups to work against the bill in fear that redefining what is and is not a forever chemical had wide reaching implications in PFAS regulation both in Maryland and across the country - threatening to undo established rules on firefighting foams and the EPAs recent sweeping ruling on PFAS in water.
The result has been bittersweet - the hijacked bill has failed to pass, but pesticides with high levels of PFAS continue to be widely used. We are proud to be part of the Smart on Pesticides Coalition
Read up on this bill at Maryland Matters
More on PFAS:
- The EPA is finally regulating forever chemicals in drinking water - what you can do to reduce your risk.
- Poolesville has been grappling with PFAS in a municipal well, taking the well offline and preforming costly remediation's
- A key source of PFAS in soil, food and water is sewage sludge fertilizers used on farms and yards- we support a ban on these fertilizers with off the charts PFAS and joined to support a bill to take this ban statewide - it does not look likely to pass.
