Maryland officials say the state will again spray pesticide Permanone 30-30 to control mosquito populations, after EPA testing determined it does not contain dangerous PFAS.
The Baltimore Sun reports that the Maryland Department of Agriculture temporarily halted use of the pesticide in the state this year “out of an abundance of caution,” after testing by an outside lab found 3,500 parts per trillion of one type of PFAS, and 630 parts per trillion of another, said MDA spokesman Jason Schellhardt.
But testing by EPA scientists at Fort Meade returned a different result.
PFAS, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, are also known as “forever chemicals." That's because they can linger in the human body for long periods of time.
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Laboratory tests have shown that accumulated PFAS can cause tumor growth in animals, in addition to problems with kidney, liver and reproductive function.
Ruth Berlin, executive director of the Maryland Pesticide Education Network, one of the groups that commissioned the earlier test of Permanone 30-30, said she wasn’t satisfied by the new results from EPA scientists.
Eurofins, the lab that conducted that initial testing, did not respond to a request for comment about the new results from the federal government.
