Maryland lawmakers are proposing legislation to phase out the sale and use of pesticides containing PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”
PFAS, which stands for perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of synthetic chemicals found in many household items. They are used to make products more resistant to stains, grease, and water, but those same properties make these chemicals difficult to remove once they have contaminated the environment.
Already, PFAS have been found in drinking water. The Maryland Department of the Environment has advised residents to limit or avoid consuming 15 species of fish due to PFAS contamination in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
In addition to being part of some cookware, clothing, food packaging, and other common products, PFAS are also used in many pesticides.
That’s why members of the Maryland General Assembly are seeking to pass a bill that would phase out “forever pesticides” containing PFAS.
“PFAS-pesticides can persist in our bodies and in the environment for a decade or longer and are linked to serious life-threatening health impacts. In fact, they are known to actually cause certain cancers and chronic conditions,” said lead House sponsor Del. Sheila Ruth (D-Baltimore County) in a statement. “With this bill, we have the opportunity to phase out an avoidable source of PFAS contamination that is poisoning our food supply and the health of our families.”
Sen. Benjamin Brooks (D-Baltimore County), who is sponsoring the companion bill in the Maryland Senate, noted that the legislation would not ban all pesticides — only ones that contain PFAS, which comprise a small minority of pesticide products.
“SB345/HB386 would phase out less than 8% of the 14,000 pesticides registered each year in Maryland, leaving plenty of alternative products that are not a PFAS ‘forever pesticide,'” Brooks said in a statement.
The legislation would require the Maryland Department of Agriculture to develop and maintain a list of PFAS-containing pesticides by Jan. 1, 2026. People would also be prohibited from using these pesticides for certain purposes, starting June 1, 2026. The state’s agriculture department would not be allowed to register a PFAS pesticide for sale, starting June 1, 2027. And by June 1, 2028, people would be prohibited from using PFAS pesticides in Maryland.
PFAS were found in the blood of all participants of a soon-to-be-published Maryland study conducted by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Maryland Pesticide Education Network. The study found the majority of those individuals were in the range for “potential health effects,” particularly sensitive populations, according to a news release.
The study’s lead investigator, Dr. Ana Rule of the JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health, said even PFAS chemicals that have long been banned continue to be present in participants’ bodies.
“We were surprised that every person in our Maryland study had PFAS chemicals in their blood, the majority at levels that have the potential to cause adverse health problems,” Rule said. “Some of the PFAS chemicals have been banned for many years, yet they still showed up at high levels, which speaks to the persistence in the human body that has earned them the name ‘forever chemicals.’”
PFAS have been linked to a variety of health issues, Rule added.
“Research has linked PFAS exposure to kidney, testicular, prostate, ovarian and breast cancer, birth defects and developmental damage in infants, childhood obesity, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, kidney and liver damage, and impaired immune function,” she said. “PFAS levels also affect the severity of COVID-19 infection and have been correlated with vaccine failure.
Exposure to “forever chemicals,” such as those found in some pesticides, can worsen conditions of already vulnerable communities, said Dr. Michael Ichniowski, a pediatrician representing Maryland Academy of Pediatrics.
“The potential for lifetime exposure and accumulation of PFAS is substantial, especially in children, who would have higher levels of exposure relative to their weight over a longer span of years,” Ichniowski said in a statement. “Once present, they are poorly excreted and persist in the human body, with half-lives often measured in years to decades. Ongoing use of PFAS-based pesticides increases children’s exposure to these toxins, leading to substantial lifetime burden and increased risk of adverse effects.”
