Almost non-biodegradable, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, accumulate over time and eventually reach the human body.
Agricultural products — such as those used directly on fruits and vegetables before they contaminate waterways — do not belong in the United States, if regulators have gradually restricted or banned their use in a wide variety of facilities and products. This study, which the journal published Wednesday Environmental Health Perspectives urges you to enter them now to fine-tune them.
“The more we look for them, the more we find them,” says study co-author Alexis Temkin, a toxicologist with the Environmental Protection Working Group.
Packaging too
According to scientists, high exposure to these PFAS can weaken the immune system, reduce fertility or disrupt the hormonal cycle, although knowledge about these substances still needs to be completed.
For this study, the researchers gathered information not only about the active ingredients of pesticides, but also about the substances that accompany them, sometimes described as “inerts,” especially the adjuvants that increase their effectiveness in the field.
According to their results, 14% of all ingredients considered to be active pesticide ingredients in the United States are PFASs, including almost one-third of the active ingredients permitted over the past decade.
And eight substances allowed as excipients are PFASs, including Teflon. The company of the same name stopped selling its famous pans in 2013, but the American regulator only recently started the process of banning Teflon from pesticides. According to David Andrews, another co-author of the study, this is explained by the fact that this regulator, the American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is particularly dishonest compared to the standards adopted by the OECD. countries.
The study also found “perpetual pollutants” in pesticide and fertilizer packaging. Another co-author, Nathan Donley, analyzes that it’s “absolutely scary news because pesticides are the most common pollutant in the world.”