{"id":40519,"date":"2025-12-15T00:01:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=40519"},"modified":"2025-12-14T20:01:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T01:01:31","slug":"widespread-pfas-pesticide-contamination-harkens-back-to-ddt-poisoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2025\/12\/widespread-pfas-pesticide-contamination-harkens-back-to-ddt-poisoning\/","title":{"rendered":"Widespread PFAS Pesticide Contamination Harkens Back to DDT Poisoning"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, December 15, 2025)\u00a0With recent proposals by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to register new pesticides that under international standards are classified as PFAS <\/a>(Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), people and organizations are calling for Congress to reverse the agency\u2019s action. Beyond Pesticides announced an action to Tell EPA and Congress to eliminate PFAS chemicals, including those used in pesticides.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

In its action Beyond Pesticides pointed to the long history of allowing pesticides on that market that have long residual lives and bioaccumulate in the environment, causing generations of exposure and adverse effects to health and ecosystems. DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) exemplifies the generational effect of a toxic pesticide whose effects ha endured for decades, even though it was hailed as a miracle solution for agriculture and public health.<\/p>\r\n

PFAS, with a wide variety of uses\u2014from nonstick pans to waterproofing fabrics to firefighting foams to pesticides\u2014might similarly lead to the characterization as a \u201cmiracle\u201d chemical. PFAS also share the less beneficial characteristics of DDT. Like DDT, PFAS are persistent, leading to the nickname \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d and they are highly toxic.<\/p>\r\n

EPA\u00a0links PFAS<\/a>\u00a0to an increased risk of many health effects, including decreased fertility and hypertension in pregnant people; increased risk of prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers; developmental effects or delays in children, including low birth weight, accelerated puberty, bone variations, or behavioral changes; hormonal irregularities; elevated cholesterol and risk of obesity; and reduced immune system response. Beyond Pesticides, in\u202fprevious comments<\/a>\u202fand\u202fDaily News<\/em>\u202fcoverage<\/a>, has also highlighted these\u202fhealth threats, among others.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Like DDT, PFAS residues are persistent in food and drinking water, with over six million U.S. residents regularly\u202fencountering\u202fdrinking water with\u202fPFAS levels<\/a>\u202fabove the EPA health advisory of 70 ng\/L.\u202fTherefore, PFAS are detectable in\u202falmost all\u202fof the U.S. population\u2014disproportionately afflicting people of color communities<\/a>\u2014and have implications for human health.\u202fFrom\u202fepigenetic<\/a>\u202fto\u202fimmunotoxic<\/a>\u202feffects, there is a wide range of health implications with PFAS exposure.\u202fBecause of their ubiquitous use,\u202fstudies<\/a>\u202freport that PFAS compounds are detectable in infants, children, and pregnant women.\u202fLike DDT, the effects of PFAS endure through generations\u2014pregnant women can readily transfer compounds to the developing fetus through the placenta.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

EPA and other federal regulators have been behind the curve in preventing and responding to the threats posed by PFAS compounds. Despite evidence\u202fon\u202fthe dangers of PFAS stretching as far back as the 1950s, federal agencies failed to respond as the plastics industry continued adding the material to new products. Now, there is a similar\u202fexpansion of use with the registration of pesticides in the PFAS group.\u202fAs drinking water health advisories issued by EPA show\u202fPFAS levels<\/a>\u202fas low as .02 parts per trillion (ppt) have the potential to cause adverse health effects for public health.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

The detection of any level of PFAS is cause\u202ffor\u202fconcern, and the parallels with DDT continue. From widespread presence in farm fields and sewage sludge (biosolids) to contaminated water bodies throughout the U.S., PFAS have made their way into the environment and human bodies. PFAS are even present in remote environments like the Arctic, Antarctica, and the Eastern European Tibetan Plateau. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)\u202fdetermined\u202fthat\u202falmost all\u202fAmericans have some level of\u202fPFAS in their bloodstream<\/a>, which highlights PFAS as a chronic danger to people that, health advocates say, demands urgent regulatory action.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Like DDT, PFAS are implicated in endocrine disruption. In a literature review published in\u202fEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety<\/em><\/a>\u202fearlier this year, the authors highlight a multitude of studies on\u202fendocrine-disrupting<\/a>\u00a0chemicals (EDCs) and endocrine-disrupting pesticides (EDPs) showing epigenetic effects from exposure, as the chemicals imitate the action of endocrine hormones and lead to gene damage and multigenerational adverse effects to health. In summarizing these results, the researchers state, \u201cAs a class of particularly representative endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the accumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances potentially leads to adverse health effects, including hormonal disruptions, developmental issues, and cancer.\u201d These effects result from complex mechanisms that are not yet fully assessed in EPA’s pesticide registration process, creating a major deficiency in the regulatory review of pesticides that must be addressed before products are approved.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

In a\u202fnews\u202frelease<\/a>\u202f on November 26, 2025,\u202f EPA circulated what it called \u201ca comprehensive fact-check addressing dangerous misinformation circulating about EPA’s recent pesticide approvals\u201d that\u202fcontinues to deceive the public about the true risks for health and the environment from petrochemical pesticides, including, but not limited to,\u202fper- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).\u202fAlso published on November 26, coverage titled\u202fThe EPA Is Embracing PFAS Pesticides. These Are The Health Risks<\/a>\u202fin\u202fTime<\/em>\u202ffurther highlights\u00a0EPA’s deficiencies<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0threats of PFAS<\/a>.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

The controversy erupted as a result of EPA’s latest proposal to allow a new fluorinated pesticide, which adds to the list of four other similar compounds now widely available for use in homes and gardens, buildings, and agriculture. The newest pesticide proposed for EPA registration,\u00a0epyrifenacil\u00a0<\/a>(agricultural weed killer), joins\u00a0cyclobutrifluram<\/a>\u00a0(soil fungicide\/nematicide),\u00a0isocycloseram<\/a>\u00a0(household and agricultural insecticide),\u00a0diflufenican<\/a>\u00a0(lawn and agricultural weed killer), and\u00a0trifludimoxazin<\/a>\u00a0(agricultural weed killer), making a total of five PFAS pesticide proposals this year that have been associated with national and worldwide contamination of food, land, and water. Two of these, cyclobutrifluram and isocycloseram, have been approved.<\/p>\r\n

Instead of curtailing the use of fluorinated pesticides\u2014persistent and highly toxic compounds defined as PFAS internationally\u2014EPA attempts to define away the problem. The definition of PFAS used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) encompasses a wide variety of fluorinated compounds and is \u201cscientifically grounded, unambiguous, and well suited to identify these chemicals,\u201d as described by scientists in a commentary published in\u202fEnvironmental Science & Technology Letters<\/em><\/a>. As the researchers describe, excluding certain fluorinated chemical subgroups does not\u202fproperly represent\u202fthe scope of PFAS, which they estimate to include millions of theoretical structures, but\u202fmore practically,\u202fseveral\u202fthousand that are\u202factually manufactured.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

The\u202fOECD chemical definition<\/a>\u202fof PFAS states:\u202f\u201cPFASs are defined as fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom (without any H\/Cl\/Br\/I atom attached to it), i.e., with a few noted exceptions, any chemical with at least a perfluorinated methyl group (\u2212CF3) or a perfluorinated methylene group (\u2212CF2\u2212) is a PFAS.\u201d\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

This definition of PFAS encompasses gases, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals,\u202fmany\u202fof which can degrade to form\u202fadditional\u202fPFAS, such as trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), that regulatory bodies like EPA do not include in their definitions.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Thus, while the OECD defines PFAS as industrial chemicals that have at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom\u2014which is a carbon atom with two or three fluorine atoms attached to it EPA\u2014has narrowed the\u202fdefinition to those containing two fully fluorinated carbon atoms.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

It is time to act on lessons learned from DDT\u2014the original \u201cforever chemical.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

In response to science, widespread contamination, and an expanding market of PFAS chemicals, \u00a0Beyond Pesticides realeased the following action: Tell EPA and Congress to eliminate PFAS chemicals, including those used in pesticides<\/a>.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
\r\n<\/strong>Are PFAS chemicals the new DDT? Once hailed as a miracle solution for agriculture and public health, DDT became recognized as the antithesis of that\u2014a highly toxic, persistent chemical whose effects endured through generations. \u201cPFAS\u201d refers to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances whose wide variety of uses\u2014from nonstick pans to waterproofing fabrics to firefighting foams to pesticides\u2014might similarly lead to the characterization as \u201cmiracles.\u201d PFAS also share the hazardous characteristics of DDT. Like DDT, PFAS are persistent, leading to the nickname \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d and they are highly toxic.<\/p>\r\n

Like DDT, PFAS residues persist in food. Over six million U.S. residents regularly drink water with levels\u202fabove the EPA health advisory level, with a wide range of health implications. PFAS compounds are detectable in infants, children, and pregnant women.\u202fLike DDT, the effects of PFAS endure through generations\u2014pregnant women can readily transfer compounds to the developing fetus through the placenta.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

U.S. regulators are overdue in preventing and responding to PFAS. Despite evidence\u202fof\u202fthe dangers of PFAS stretching as far back as the 1950s, federal agencies failed to respond as the plastics industry continued adding the material to new products. Now we are seeing\u202fan\u202fexpansion of use with the registration of PFAS pesticides.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

Parallels with DDT continue. From widespread presence in farm fields and sewage sludge (biosolids) to contaminated water bodies throughout the U.S., PFAS have made their way into the environment and human bodies\u2014even in remote environments like Antarctica. CDC has\u202fdetermined\u202fthat\u202falmost all\u202fAmericans have some level of\u202fPFAS in their bloodstream.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

Like DDT, PFAS are implicated in endocrine disruption. A literature review published this year highlighted a multitude of studies on\u202fendocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) showing epigenetic effects leading to gene damage and multigenerational adverse effects to health. In summarizing these results, the researchers state, \u201cAs a class of particularly representative endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the accumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances potentially leads to adverse health effects, including hormonal disruptions, developmental issues, and cancer.\u201d These effects result from complex mechanisms not yet fully assessed in EPA pesticide registration, creating a major deficiency in the regulatory review of pesticides that must be addressed.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

EPA proposes to allow a new fluorinated pesticide to the list of four other similar compounds now widely available for use in homes and gardens, buildings, and agriculture. The newest PFAS proposed for EPA registration, epyrifenacil (agricultural weed killer), joins cyclobutrifluram (soil fungicide\/nematicide), isocycloseram (household and agricultural insecticide), diflufenican (lawn and agricultural weed killer), and trifludimoxazin (agricultural weed killer), making a total of five PFAS pesticide proposals this year. Two of these, cyclobutrifluram and isocycloseram, have been approved.<\/p>\r\n

Instead of eliminating fluorinated pesticides\u2014persistent and highly toxic compounds defined as PFAS internationally\u2014EPA attempts to define away the problem. The internationally accepted definition of PFAS states:\u202f\u201cPFASs are defined as fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom (without any H\/Cl\/Br\/I atom attached to it), i.e., with a few noted exceptions, any chemical with at least a perfluorinated methyl group (\u2212CF3) or a perfluorinated methylene group (\u2212CF2\u2212) is a PFAS.\u201d\u202fThis definition of PFAS encompasses gases, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals,\u202fmany\u202fof which can degrade to form\u202fadditional\u202fPFAS, such as trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), that EPA does not include in its definition\u2014narrowed to those containing two fully fluorinated carbon atoms.<\/p>\r\n

It is time to act on lessons learned from DDT. Please do not register PFAS pesticides, as recognized internationally.<\/p>\r\n

Thank you.<\/p>\r\n

Letter to Congress
\r\n<\/strong>Are PFAS chemicals the new DDT? Once hailed as a miracle solution for agriculture and public health, DDT became recognized as the antithesis of that\u2014a highly toxic, persistent chemical whose effects endured through generations. \u201cPFAS\u201d refers to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances whose wide variety of uses\u2014from nonstick pans to waterproofing fabrics to firefighting foams to pesticides\u2014might similarly lead to the characterization as \u201cmiracles.\u201d PFAS also share the hazardous characteristics of DDT. Like DDT, PFAS are persistent, leading to the nickname \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d and they are highly toxic.<\/p>\r\n

Like DDT, PFAS residues persist in food. Over six million U.S. residents regularly drink water with levels\u202fabove the EPA health advisory level, with a wide range of health implications. PFAS compounds are detectable in infants, children, and pregnant women.\u202fLike DDT, the effects of PFAS endure through generations\u2014pregnant women can readily transfer compounds to the developing fetus through the placenta.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

U.S. regulators are overdue in preventing and responding to PFAS. Despite evidence\u202fof\u202fthe dangers of PFAS stretching as far back as the 1950s, federal agencies failed to respond as the plastics industry continued adding the material to new products. Now we are seeing\u202fan\u202fexpansion of use with the registration of PFAS pesticides.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

Parallels with DDT continue. From widespread presence in farm fields and sewage sludge (biosolids) to contaminated water bodies throughout the U.S., PFAS have made their way into the environment and human bodies\u2014even in remote environments like Antarctica. CDC has\u202fdetermined\u202fthat\u202falmost all\u202fAmericans have some level of\u202fPFAS in their bloodstream.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

Like DDT, PFAS are implicated in endocrine disruption. A literature review published this year highlighted a multitude of studies on\u202fendocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) showing epigenetic effects leading to gene damage and multigenerational adverse effects to health. In summarizing these results, the researchers state, \u201cAs a class of particularly representative endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the accumulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances potentially leads to adverse health effects, including hormonal disruptions, developmental issues, and cancer.\u201d These effects result from complex mechanisms not yet fully assessed in EPA pesticide registration, creating a major deficiency in the regulatory review of pesticides that must be addressed.\u202f<\/p>\r\n

EPA proposes to allow a new fluorinated pesticide to the list of four other similar compounds now widely available for use in homes and gardens, buildings, and agriculture. The newest PFAS proposed for EPA registration, epyrifenacil (agricultural weed killer), joins cyclobutrifluram (soil fungicide\/nematicide), isocycloseram (household and agricultural insecticide), diflufenican (lawn and agricultural weed killer), and trifludimoxazin (agricultural weed killer), making a total of five PFAS pesticide proposals this year. Two of these, cyclobutrifluram and isocycloseram, have been approved.<\/p>\r\n

Instead of eliminating fluorinated pesticides\u2014persistent and highly toxic compounds defined as PFAS internationally\u2014EPA attempts to define away the problem. The internationally accepted definition of PFAS states:\u202f\u201cPFASs are defined as fluorinated substances that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom (without any H\/Cl\/Br\/I atom attached to it), i.e., with a few noted exceptions, any chemical with at least a perfluorinated methyl group (\u2212CF3) or a perfluorinated methylene group (\u2212CF2\u2212) is a PFAS.\u201d\u202fThis definition of PFAS encompasses gases, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals,\u202fmany\u202fof which can degrade to form\u202fadditional\u202fPFAS, such as trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), that EPA does not include in its definition\u2014narrowed to those containing two fully fluorinated carbon atoms.<\/p>\r\n

It is time to act on lessons learned from DDT. Please do not register PFAS pesticides, as recognized internationally.<\/p>\r\n

Thank you.<\/p>\r\n

All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of Beyond Pesticides.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides, December 15, 2025)\u00a0With recent proposals by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to register new pesticides that under international standards are classified as PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), people and organizations are calling for Congress to reverse the agency\u2019s action. Beyond Pesticides announced an action to Tell EPA and Congress to eliminate PFAS chemicals, including those used in pesticides.\u00a0 In its action Beyond Pesticides pointed to the long history of allowing pesticides on that market that have long residual lives and bioaccumulate in the environment, causing generations of exposure and adverse effects to health and ecosystems. DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) exemplifies the generational effect of a toxic pesticide whose effects ha endured for decades, even though it was hailed as a miracle solution for agriculture and public health. PFAS, with a wide variety of uses\u2014from nonstick pans to waterproofing fabrics to firefighting foams to pesticides\u2014might similarly lead to the characterization as a \u201cmiracle\u201d chemical. PFAS also share the less beneficial characteristics of DDT. Like DDT, PFAS are persistent, leading to the nickname \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d and they are highly toxic. EPA\u00a0links PFAS\u00a0to an increased risk of many health effects, including decreased fertility and hypertension in pregnant people; increased risk of prostate, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[534,380,85,354,384,515,535,276,396,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-biosolids","category-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-cdc","category-endocrine-disruption","category-environmental-protection-agency-epa","category-fertilizer","category-pfas","category-sewage-sludge","category-take-action","category-toxic-waste","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWidespread PFAS Pesticide Contamination Harkens Back to DDT Poisoning - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2025\/12\/widespread-pfas-pesticide-contamination-harkens-back-to-ddt-poisoning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Widespread PFAS Pesticide Contamination Harkens Back to DDT Poisoning - Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"(Beyond Pesticides, December 15, 2025)\u00a0With recent proposals by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to register new pesticides that under international standards are classified as PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), people and organizations are calling for Congress to reverse the agency\u2019s action. Beyond Pesticides announced an action to Tell EPA and Congress to eliminate PFAS chemicals, including those used in pesticides.\u00a0 In its action Beyond Pesticides pointed to the long history of allowing pesticides on that market that have long residual lives and bioaccumulate in the environment, causing generations of exposure and adverse effects to health and ecosystems. DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) exemplifies the generational effect of a toxic pesticide whose effects ha endured for decades, even though it was hailed as a miracle solution for agriculture and public health. PFAS, with a wide variety of uses\u2014from nonstick pans to waterproofing fabrics to firefighting foams to pesticides\u2014might similarly lead to the characterization as a \u201cmiracle\u201d chemical. PFAS also share the less beneficial characteristics of DDT. Like DDT, PFAS are persistent, leading to the nickname \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d and they are highly toxic. 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