MPEN’s Smart on Pesticides Coalition
Maryland Pesticide Education Network
Maryland Pesticide Education Network (MPEN) and its Smart on Pesticides Coalition of 115 organizations and businesses heralded the warning about PFAS being found in the State’s mosquito control pesticide, which we had tested, and is sprayed often weekly in 2,100 communities. We raised awareness with state legislators and the public that some pesticides contain PFAS ‘forever chemicals’. PFAS (over 12,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination of pesticides may come from 3 sources: (1) a PFAS may be the pesticide’s active ingredient, (2) a pesticide may be contaminated from PFAS leaching from the products’ fluorinated plastic container, or (3) a pesticide may be PFAS-contaminated by the pesticide’s confidential “inert” ingredients, which sometimes make up 90% of a pesticide product. MPEN sought media coverage during Maryland’s 2023 Maryland General Assembly session and the resulting press coverage elevated the issue greatly.
