A coalition of environmental groups is asking a federal appeals court to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's approval of a weedkiller ingredient. The groups say this ingredient, trifludimoxazin, could create long-lasting risks for people and wildlife, according to Common Dreams.
Trifludimoxazin is a PFAS-based herbicide that the EPA authorized for use on major crops even as worries grow about the health and environmental harms associated with so-called "forever chemicals."
Here's what to know
Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network North America, the Center for Food Safety, and the Center for Biological Diversity have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to undo the EPA's approval of trifludimoxazin and six products that contain it, Common Dreams reported.
Trifludimoxazin is a kind of "forever chemical" because, like other PFAS, it can take years to degrade. It's currently cleared for use on crops like wheat and apples.
The EPA first approved the compound in 2021. Sales stopped in 2022 after environmental groups challenged the decision in court, but the EPA later moved to register it again for widespread use and finalized that approval on June 30 of this year.
In the suit, the organizations say the EPA did not adequately evaluate evidence that the pesticide could be carcinogenic and may also endanger wildlife, ecosystems, and workers repeatedly exposed to it.
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Why is this concerning?
According to Common Dreams, the EPA itself has said trifludimoxazin may affect threatened and endangered species and pose risks to bees and other invertebrates.
Rodent studies have linked high doses of the chemical to thyroid tumors and harmful effects on the liver and reproductive systems. Even so, the EPA said in its final risk assessment that it found "no human health risks of concern."
Environmental groups say that conclusion overlooked key dangers, including the pesticide's potential cancer risk and the real-world effects of workers being exposed to multiple chemicals at once. Two of the approved products combine trifludimoxazin with another toxic herbicide, saflufenacil.
Trifludimoxazin has been characterized as being about 10 times more potent than dicamba, a weedkiller that Common Dreams said is associated with unintended damage to millions of crop acres since 2017.
What's being done?
By asking the 9th Circuit to vacate the approval, the groups contend federal officials allowed widespread use without first applying important safeguards for people and the environment.
Bill Freese, science director at the Center for Food Safety, said the consequences could extend far beyond a single pesticide.
"Trifludimoxazin is a likely human carcinogen that belongs to a family of weedkillers that also causes reproductive harm, birth defects, and neurological deficits in animal studies," Freese said, as Common Dreams relayed.
Freese continued, "As if the health threats weren't enough, this incredibly potent herbicide can drift to stunt crops and wild plants hundreds of yards from a sprayed field, while runoff threatens wetland plants. Potent biocides like this have no business on the American landscape."
Where can I learn more?
Similar battles have played out in many places over other herbicides, pesticides, and more.
• Environmental groups also sued over EPA's reapproval of dicamba products tied to Agent Orange chemicals.
• A coalition is pressing EPA to immediately suspend glyphosate after courts questioned its legality.
• Wildlife advocates sued federal officials over toxic pesticide use threatening more than 1,500 species.
• In New York, lawmakers backed a bipartisan call to ban biosolids over mounting PFAS fears.
• The EPA also reversed a Trump-era policy that had weakened pollution limits for major emitters.
For advocates, each of these fights can shape what comes next. Learning from what people have done in other places can inform how to take strategic action in your community.
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