Karmactive Staff
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently proposed approving trifludimoxazin, a pesticide for use on soybeans, oranges, apples, peanuts, and other crops. This marks the fourth per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) pesticide ingredient the EPA has moved to approve in just two months, despite mounting evidence of health and environmental risks.
PFAS chemicals, commonly called “forever chemicals,” have carbon-fluorine bonds that resist breaking down in the environment—potentially lasting for decades or even centuries. While the EPA assesses each PFAS differently, all share the characteristic of extreme persistence.
“Rather than reducing America’s risks from forever chemicals, Zeldin’s EPA is fast-tracking approval of new ‘forever pesticides’ to be sprayed across hundreds of millions of U.S. acres,” said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity.
The proposal comes just one month after EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told the Senate Appropriations Committee he was committed to tackling PFAS pollution. This apparent contradiction has raised concerns among environmental advocates.
A July 2024 study by researchers from the Center for Biological Diversity, Environmental Working Group, and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility found that PFAS make up about 14% of all active ingredients in pesticides used in the U.S., including nearly one-third of active ingredients approved in the last decade.
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The proposed approval of trifludimoxazin is particularly concerning as it would allow combination with another PFAS pesticide called saflufenacil in the same product, likely resulting in pollution containing mixtures of different PFAS chemicals.
The other three PFAS pesticides recently proposed for approval are cyclobutrifluram, isocycloseram, and diflufenican. When testing cyclobutrifluram, the EPA found exposure linked to impacts on thyroids, livers, and body weights in animal studies, yet determined it “will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment.”
Environmental groups and farm advocates are pushing back against these approvals. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture has labeled PFAS a “major hazard” to U.S. farmers and ranchers, calling for financial support for those impacted by contamination.
This trend of approving PFAS pesticides contradicts a May 2025 report from the Make America Healthy Again commission, which found pesticides are driving chronic disease in children through exposures in the womb, breastmilk, and household dust.
While the EPA has taken some positive steps—including removing 12 PFAS from the list of approved inert ingredients in non-food pesticide products in 2022—critics argue these measures are insufficient given the ongoing approvals of new PFAS active ingredients.
As these chemicals continue entering our food system and water supplies, the debate intensifies over whether short-term agricultural benefits outweigh the long-term health and environmental consequences of these virtually indestructible compounds.
