CLARIFICATION: Neonicotinoids may contain PFAS chemicals, but PFAS chemicals are not neonicotinoids. (12:30 p.m. MDT, Aug. 11, 2024)


A class of potentially toxic chemicals known as PFAS can be found in many common pesticides that, in Connecticut, are as close as your local retail store.

Also called "forever chemicals," PFAS chemicals raise concerns in Connecticut and around the globe because of adverse impacts on human health, wildlife and the ecosystem. Groups in the United States are asking the Environmental Protection Agency for tougher regulations on pesticides and other toxic substances.

Nathan Donley, environmental health science director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said most pesticides are too easy to obtain and use.

"These are just regular products that you would buy in your local hardware store," he said. "They're also products that you could use in agriculture, that many farmers use. These ingredients are in a lot of different products that many people can buy."

The Connecticut General Assembly is considering a bill that would limit the use of "neonic" products on trees and shrubs except in environmental emergencies. Nationally, a coalition of chemical trade groups recently challenged the EPA's Safe Water Drinking Act, calling it "arbitrary and capricious" and an overreach.

Donley said the exposure pathways for PFAS are very similar between people and wildlife, pointing out that animals are drinking from water sources where the exposure is greatest. He said institutions such as the EPA are in place to make sure that shortsighted actions by a few don't have long-term consequences for everyone.

"This really isn't the failing of individuals, it's the failing of our institutions," he said. "And we need to put pressure on representatives that have been elected to really put in place the protections that most of the public thinks should be in place."

Donley called PFAS a multi-generational threat, saying the true harm may not be realized in current lifetimes, but in future generations. He said environmental groups have been fighting the use of persistent pollutants for a half-century, but the nation is still dealing with many of them.


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One organization is taking the Trump administration's promises to "Make America Healthy Again" seriously.

The Center for Biological Diversity is petitioning the new Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and several federal agencies responsible for different facets of food safety. The group is asking them to ban what it said Kennedy has called "extraordinarily toxic pesticides" from food.

Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director and senior attorney at the center, thinks Tennesseans would agree it is time for action, since it is estimated more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used annually in the U.S.

"For Tennessee, that would mean, essentially, that the most dangerous pesticides would no longer be used on food crops, so it would benefit consumers," Burd asserted. "It would also help to keep farmworkers, growers and their surrounding communities safer because they wouldn't have any exposure to these pesticides after they would be banned."

Recent Consumer Reports testing found concerning pesticide levels, some 100 times higher than deemed safe, in 20 percent of 20% of the foods tested, including common produce items like blueberries and green beans.

Burd noted Secretary Kennedy has already called out herbicides like atrazine as toxic. It is used primarily on corn crops and has been linked to water contamination, fertility issues and other health risks.

"We've also named glyphosate, which is the most used herbicide in the country and the most used pesticide overall," Burd noted. "We use about 330 million pounds of that in agriculture each year in the United States, and that is a suspected carcinogen."

The Modern Ag Alliance called glyphosate "Tennessee farmers' Number One tool to control weeds and keep crop yields high." The petition urges the Food and Drug Administration to enforce safety for imported foods, the Environmental Protection Agency to ban toxic pesticides, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to tie farm subsidies to pesticide-free practices. It also called for clear warnings in federal dietary guidelines to avoid foods contaminated with harmful pesticides.


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Environmental advocates in Iowa want state lawmakers to tighten regulations on large livestock feeding facilities, which they say will help protect the state's air and water.

They say right now, Iowa is headed in the wrong direction.

The group Iowa Food and Water Watch has a list of priorities for the 2025 Legislature - from opposing legislation that could limit pesticide companies' liability, to protecting ground and surface water from the 4,000 large animal feeding operations in the state.

Food and Water Watch Iowa Organizer Jennifer Breon said cleaning up Iowa's drinking water is at the top of the list - by requiring those operations to adhere to the U.S. Clean Water Act.

"Only 4% of Iowa's CAFOs or factory farms have Clean Water Act permits," said Breon, "and Iowa has more factory farms than any other state."

Livestock industry operators say they are always balancing efforts to be more environmental friendly with the need to keep up with consumer demand for meat products.

Beyond polluting the air, ground, and surface water near CAFOs, Breon said the 109 billion gallons of manure produced by Iowa's factory farms every year is threatening the state's recreational opportunities.

"It's impossible to swim in the lake in Iowa in the summertime frequently, because of E. coli and algae blooms," said Breon. "Our state is forced to issue warnings about beach closures, pretty much all summer long."

An analysis by Food and Water Watch found that Iowa's factory farms have been fined less than $750,000, despite multiple citations for water pollution over a decade.



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Research shows toxic additives have been overlooked in the U.S. food supply, though the federal Food and Drug Administration is charged with regulating them.

Legislation in Montana could start new state-level rules. Senate Bill 155 would create a state panel on food safety and give it the authority to make and enforce rules limiting the availability of foods that contain certain toxic additives, like food coloring.

Sen. Daniel Emrich, R-Great Falls, sponsored the bill and said it will help the state understand the cumulative health effects of consuming toxins.

"First, it's a study process," Emrich explained. "We have to study the issue, see how extensive it is and see if there's regulations that need to be instituted to deal with the issue."

A 2024 study showed toxic chemicals have entered Americans' food supply by being put into a category called "generally recognized as safe." It was meant for common ingredients, like oil and baking soda, which the FDA exempts from a thorough approval process.

The Environmental Working Group in 2022 found 98.7% of the new chemicals introduced to the food supply since 2000 were not FDA approved, amounting to more than 750 chemicals. Emrich pointed out the state could more closely regulate what is being sold inside its boundaries.

"The Food and Drug Administration, they recognize the toxic cumulative effect of these additives, but they don't regulate it," Emrich noted.

He added regulation could improve Montanans' health and save the state "billions of dollars in health care." The bill was referred last week to the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Safety.