EPA sued over approval of ‘forever chemical’ pesticide

The agency approved trifludimoxazin for use on crops, including corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, oranges, apples, peanuts and almonds, earlier this summer.(CN) — The Center for Biological Diversity and other advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the approval of trifludimoxazin, a “forever chemical” pesticide, earlier this summer.The groups, which include the Center for Food Safety and Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network North America, filed a petition for review in the Ninth Circuit on Friday, challenging the EPA’s June registration of trifludimoxazin and asserting it is harmful to native plants and potentially cancer-causing.“Trifludimoxazin is a likely human carcinogen that belongs to a family of weedkillers that also causes reproductive harm, birth defects and neurological deficits in animal studies,” Bill Freese, science director at the Center for Food Safety, said in a press release. “As if the health threats weren’t enough, this incredibly potent herbicide can drift to stunt crops and wild plants hundreds of yards from a sprayed field, while runoff threatens wetland plants. Potent biocides like this have no business on the American landscape.”The pesticide is used to control broadleaf and grass weed species in a variety of crops, including corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, oranges, apples, peanuts and almonds. Six registered products containing trifludimoxazin are currently approved for use on crops.The EPA memorandum approving the use of trifludimoxazin acknowledged exposure caused adverse thyroid and liver effects in rats but concluded no data was needed at the time. The agency further concluded there are currently no short-term health risks for trifludimoxazin.An EPA representative also told Courthouse News that products are registered only after scientists conduct a “robust review” and conclude they “will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on human health or the environment.”In an interview with Courthouse News, Freese said the EPA downplays concerns and data about trifludimoxazin.“EPA admits that it causes thyroid tumors in rats, and that should force them to label it as likely carcinogenic to humans, which they didn’t do. They put it a step down, suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential,” he said, adding that EPA approval of chemicals like trifludimoxazin is a “foregone conclusion.”“An objective regulator looks at the evidence and calls it like it is, and unfortunately, EPA isn’t doing that with this pesticide or with many others,” he said.The groups say trifludimoxazin is a PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substance, also known as “forever chemicals.” The EPA disputes this labeling, claiming trifludimoxazin is not considered a PFAS under the current definition the Biden administration instituted.“That line was drawn deliberately and on the record, grounded in extensive gold standard scientific evidence and public comment showing that single-fluorinated-carbon molecules commonly lack concerning traits associated with PFAS, such as toxicity or bioaccumulation properties. Trifludimoxazin has one fluorinated carbon,” a representative for the EPA said in an email statement to Courthouse News.However, other authorities, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which the advocacy groups rely on, use a broader definition of PFAS that would include substances such as trifludimoxazin.“The EPA is wrong here if they just flat out deny that this is PFAS,” Freese said. “It maybe doesn’t count according to their definition, but the OECD definition is very widely accepted.”The groups are asking the court to set aside the EPA’s registration of trifludimoxazin, which would cancel all uses of the pesticide and make it illegal to use or sell in the U.S.The EPA previously approved trifludimoxazin in 2021 for nationwide use on corn, soy and fruit and nut crops; however, the chemical producer withdrew the registrations after the Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety sued, claiming the approval violated federal law.The chemical producer also agreed to stop manufacturing and selling trifludimoxazin, according to the groups.The Center for Biological Diversity and Center for Food Safety also filed a lawsuit against the administration in January over the approval of isocycloseram, another reported “forever chemical” used as an insecticide.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads