Read the full article by Lisa Held (Civil Eats)
“In line with its plan to continue pesticide approvals despite the government shutdown, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week that it will register a new weedkiller for use in corn, soybean, wheat, and canola fields.
In its announcement, the agency noted that epyrifenacil ‘contains a fluorinated carbon’ and directed the public to a new website where it lays out its position on pesticides that contain fluorinated carbons. Whether those chemicals fit the definition of PFAS doesn’t matter, the agency argues, because under the law, the EPA evaluates the risks of each chemical individually.
‘Regardless of whether a chemical meets a specific structural definition or is part of a category or class of chemicals, the Agency utilizes a comprehensive assessment process under [the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act] to evaluate the potential risks of pesticide use,’ it said. ‘This robust, chemical-specific process considers both hazard and exposure in determining whether the pesticide under review may pose risk to human health or the environment.'” …