PEER Files Request for Correction Regarding Verification Analysis for PFAS in Pesticide Products

By Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton | The National Law Review | May 31, 2024

Read the full article by Lynn L. Bergeson and Carla N. Hutton (The National Law Review)

"Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) announced on May 28, 2024, that it filed a request for correction (RFC) under the Information Quality Act (IQA) regarding a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research memorandum entitled “Verification Analysis for PFAS in Pesticide Products (ACB Project B23-05b)” dated May 18, 2023, and the accompanying press release. As reported in our June 2, 2023, memorandum, EPA completed a verification analysis of a study published in September 2022 in the Journal of Hazardous Materials entitled “Targeted analysis and Total Oxidizable Precursor assay of several insecticides for PFAS.” The study reported the presence of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in six of ten pesticide products tested. EPA released a summary of its laboratory analysis of the same ten pesticide products reported to contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) residues. EPA stated it did not find any PFAS in the tested pesticide products, differing from the results of the published study. According to PEER, “[i]n an effort to protect its reputation,” EPA issued false statements that the pesticides it tested contained no detectable PFAS. PEER claims that EPA did not reveal that:"