Waterkeeper Alliance Urges Zeldin to Reject PFAS-Laden Pesticides
By: Waterkeeper Alliance
Today, Waterkeeper Alliance sent a letter to the Administrator of the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Lee Zeldin, calling on him to stop approving pesticides that contain or generate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Zeldin recently approved new PFAS-containing pesticides, including cyclobutrifluram and isocycloseram. In the letter, Waterkeeper Alliance notes that these approvals, along with Zeldin’s inconsistent representations of what constitutes a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance, undermine science and contradict his own voting record in Congress, allowing the chemical industry to evade oversight.
PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” contaminate drinking water sources, accumulate in soil and crops, and resist breaking down in the environment and human body, allowing these toxins to persist and accumulate for decades. Experts have linked exposure to cancer, immune suppression, reproductive harm, and impaired brain development of infants and children. Despite a growing body of scientific data raising concerns about the environmental and health risks associated with these chemicals, Zeldin’s EPA approved cyclobutrifluram for use on turf, ornamentals, romaine lettuce, cotton, and soybean seed, and approved isocycloseram, a new broad-spectrum insecticide, for use on citrus, potatoes, and Brassica vegetables. More approvals are expected.
“Approving new pesticide uses that introduce PFAS would lock in permanent pollution, transferring the costs of contamination from the chemical industry to communities, utilities, and taxpayers. Pesticide applications are a direct pathway for PFAS into surface water, groundwater, and the food system,” the letter warns.
Waterkeeper Alliance points to Zeldin’s reversal on the scientific definition of PFAS, which he previously supported in Congress, as evidence of alignment with the chemical industry’s interests. As a Congressman, he supported the 2022 and 2023 National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAAs), which defined PFAS as chemicals with at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom. By voting for those NDAAs, Zeldin supported the science-based definition of PFAS, which has been adopted by at least 24 states and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); however, he now claims single fluorinated compounds are not PFAS.
Recent polling shows that 92% of voters across the political spectrum believe protecting clean air and safe drinking water should be treated as a top priority. Beyond public opinion, the agency has a statutory responsibility to protect public health and the environment.
“No community should experience worse health outcomes because EPA has failed to enforce the law against corporate polluters. EPA must immediately reject any pending or future pesticide registrations that contain PFAS or degrade into them, and revoke existing approvals that perpetuate this scientifically documented toxic contamination. Anything less would be an explicit choice to allow permanent, preventable harm. Communities across the country are demanding protection from PFAS, not the expansion of their use,” the letter concludes.
PFAS pollution also has a disproportionate impact on environmental justice communities. A 2023 peer-reviewed study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that communities with higher proportions of Black, Hispanic, and Latino residents face greater exposure to PFAS in their drinking water – a finding supported by Waterkeeper Alliance’s own 2025 monitoring data, which detected multiple PFAS at high concentrations in watersheds serving communities with high environmental justice indicators.