Lawsuit Challenges Trump EPA’s Latest Approval of ‘Forever Chemical’ Pesticide

Conservation groups filed a lawsuit today challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of isocycloseram, a “forever chemical” insecticide that falls into the class of highly persistent PFAS, or per- or polyfluoroalkyl substances.

The insecticide was approved for use on golf courses, lawns and a host of food crops, including apples, oranges, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, bell peppers, cucumbers, peaches, almonds, wheat, and oats.

The EPA found that isocycloseram reduced testicle size, lowered sperm counts and harmed the liver in animal studies sponsored by the pesticide’s manufacturer. Australian regulators found that the pesticide also induced skeletal malformations in fetal rats, but that finding was denied by the EPA. There is also evidence that isocycloseram poses a cancer risk.

“EPA itself acknowledges that the PFAS pesticide isocycloseram presents significant human health and environmental risks, yet the agency swept those risks under the rug,” said Sharmeen Morrison, senior attorney at Earthjustice. “In doing so, the agency’s approval of this pesticide violated federal law. Isocycloseram does not belong on millions of acres of American farmland that produces the food we eat.”

Isocycloseram is also highly toxic to bees and other pollinators. The EPA found that vital pollinators could be exposed to 1,500 times the lethal level of the pesticide just by collecting nectar and pollen near treated fields. One out of every three bites of food we eat — including nearly all nutrient-dense foods like fruits and vegetables — come from plants pollinated by bees and other animals.

The EPA also predicts that isocycloseram will have significant adverse effects on more than 1,000 threatened and endangered species, including already imperiled fish and birds.

“Approval of this dangerous pesticide spotlights how the industry puppet masters running the EPA chemicals office are making a mockery of chemical oversight,” said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re going to fight like hell to make sure these forever pesticides aren’t allowed to poison our grandchildren’s grandchildren.”

Isocycloseram’s approval came months after Kyle Kunkler, a former lobbyist for the pro-pesticide American Soybean Association, was installed as the deputy assistant administrator for pesticides in the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. At the EPA Kunkler works under two former lobbyists for the American Chemistry Council, Nancy Beck and Lynn Dekleva. They are overseen by a fourth industry lobbyist, Doug Troutman, who was recently confirmed to lead the chemicals office following an endorsement by the chemistry council.

“EPA rubber-stamped the manufacturer’s junk science, ignoring the risk of cancer, birth defects and environmental harms of this hazardous insecticide,” said Bill Freese, science director at Center for Food Safety. “The only value ‘regulation’ of this sort has is to pesticide makers, helping them deceive the public with false assurances of safety.”

While isocycloseram itself persists in the environment, it is also known to degrade into 40 smaller PFAS chemicals, some of which are even more highly persistent.

Today’s lawsuit against the EPA was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.