Watchdog Group Accuses EPA of Misconduct in Testing Pesticides for PFAS

According to allegations by a former research fellow for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), the EPA’s own documents indicate that false information may have been presented to the public regarding the agency’s testing of harmful contaminants in pesticides.

In May 2023, the EPA issued a press release stating that it had found no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) “forever chemicals” in samples of particular insecticides, reported The Guardian. However, the press release contradicted a former study by an EPA researcher that had found PFAS in the cited pesticide products.

“It’s pretty outrageous,” said Kyla Bennett, director of scientific policy at PEER. “You don’t get to just ignore the stuff that doesn’t support your hypothesis. That is not science. That is corruption. I can only think that they were getting pressure from pesticide companies.”

The allegations by PEER, which is led by former employees of the EPA, were made on Tuesday.

Bennett said PEER obtained the contradictory pesticide testing data after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The opportunity to comment was declined by the EPA. The agency said “because these issues relate to a pending formal complaint process, EPA has no further information to provide.”

Recently, the EPA recognized that PFAS have the potential to contaminate pesticides and recently classified two PFAS as hazardous.

PFAS are used in various industries and consumer goods like nonstick cookware, food packaging, paints, electronics and cleaning products. Some of the chemicals have been linked to health problems such as immune system damage, cancer, birth defects and delayed development in children.

In a letter submitted to the EPA by PEER, the watchdog group demanded a correction to the public statement and retraction of the EPA’s research memorandum.

In its complaint, PEER said that by seeking to refute the study’s findings, the EPA was “guilty of numerous departures from both accepted scientific and ethical practices” and “provided misinformation to a national audience and intentionally damaged Dr. [Steven] Lasee.”

The study by Lasee from 2022 said the toxic PFAS perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) had been detected in six of 10 insecticides used on cotton and other crops.

The EPA responded by saying it had gotten samples of the same pesticides, as well as purchased other products with the same registration numbers. The agency said its scientists had not found any detectable PFOS.

PEER and Lasee said the new findings raised immediate questions of testing validity due to a number of deviations from scientific norms and other flaws discovered in the EPA’s testing analyses.

“When you cherrypick data, you can make it say whatever you want it to say,” Lasee said, as The Guardian reported.