On Nov. 20, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the pesticide isocycloseram for use on foods such as fruits, vegetables, cereals, legumes, tree nuts, peanuts, coffee and sugar cane as well as for lawns and golf courses.

Isocycloseram contains PFAS, a highly persistent chemical that is harmful to humans and extremely toxic to bees. Human harms include reduced testicle size, lower sperm counts and liver toxicity. Because the EPA approval doesn’t include a child safety buffer, as it has routinely done with other harmful chemicals, young children will be at high risk from the treated fruits and vegetables they eat.

The EPA’s brand new webpage stresses the “robust, chemical-specific process” it uses to approve any pesticide, even one that contains PFAS, yet isocycloseram is the second PFAS pesticide EPA has recently approved. It’s also considering three more PFAS pesticides as well as cancelling the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, which set maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for six PFAS compounds in public drinking water on April 10, 2024. Those levels are virtually PFAS-free, at 4 and 10 parts per trillion, because of significant PFAS threats to human health.

Under President Trump, EPA’s pesticide office is now run by two former lobbyists for the American Chemistry Council — Nancy Beck and Lynn Dekleva — and one former lobbyist for the pro-pesticide American Soybean Association, Kyle Kunkler.

Kathy Kellison
Windsor