Read the full article by Renee Hickman (Reuters)
“Sept 29 (Reuters) – Pesticides containing toxic ‘forever chemicals’ will now be tracked by the state of California, the country’s largest producer of agricultural products.
The legislation, signed this week by Governor Gavin Newsom, requires the state’s Department of Pesticide Regulation to indicate whether agricultural pesticides contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, when reporting their use in a public database.
It also requires the department to track PFAS pesticide use trends in the state, where nearly half of the vegetables and more than three-quarters of the fruits and nuts in the US are grown.
Environmental advocates hope that better data on use of PFAS and their impacts will ultimately lead to more regulation.
‘This will give the state the opportunity to start analyzing what’s being used, applied where, and how to move forward to get rid of it,’ said Monica Amarelo, vice president of media relations at the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy group that supported the legislation.”…