EPA sued over approval of ‘forever chemical’ pesticide

The Center for Biological Diversity and allied groups sued the EPA in the Ninth Circuit over its June approval of trifludimoxazin, a pesticide used on corn, wheat, soybeans, oranges, apples, peanuts and almonds. Advocates call it a likely human carcinogen and a PFAS 'forever chemical' that can drift hundreds of yards and stunt wild plants.

The EPA's own approval memo acknowledged the chemical caused thyroid and liver effects in rats, but the agency concluded no further data was needed and labeled cancer evidence merely 'suggestive' rather than likely. The agency also disputes the PFAS label, citing its own narrower definition — one that excludes a compound the OECD's broader standard would include.

This is the second time regulators have approved this exact chemical; the first registration, in 2021, was withdrawn after the same groups sued and the manufacturer agreed to stop making it. The Center is also currently suing over a separate 'forever chemical' insecticide approved in January.

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