On August 22, 2024, Derek Smith was quoted in InsideEPA on the Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) petition, which aims to force the EPA to regulate PFAS in pesticides. According to the article, some industry and legal experts have argued that the FIRFA petition is lacking the necessary scientific evidence to warrant such a broad regulatory effort.
Smith shares this sentiment, believing that the science to regulate PFAS in pesticides is insufficient, with some gaps related to the impact of some PFAS. “Those gaps should be closed before imposing a blanket restriction on the use of any fluorinated organic chemical containing ‘at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom’ in the United States,” Smith explained.
He also touched on additional issues with the petition. “Even setting aside the ongoing debates over the sufficiency of that scientific evidence,” Smith said, “the problem with the petition, in my opinion, is that the petitioners are asking the EPA to act based on what they believe the science will ultimately show with respect to other PFAS, rather than what it has already established.”