Environmental groups call MD PFAS Testing bill an ‘important first step’

MARYLAND – A bill aimed at studying PFAS in pesticides made the cut on the Maryland General Assembly’s final day of the session with the ultimate goal of banning substances outright.

Maryland Pesticide Education Network says the study will help figure out best practices for testing for PFAS in pesticides used across the state,  specifically in counties that use it for mosquito control.
They say such methods already exist and are well documented by the EPA, but the network says questions raised on the MD Senate floor created the need to prove those methods would work in Maryland.
They’re hoping a 6 month testing period can help get them those answers, and a new bill passed by the next legislative session.

“This 6-month study will include and be led by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and EPA to identity their existing technology methodology for testing PFAS so that next year we can really address it,” said MPEN Director Ruth Berlin.

The network says moving forward they hope to see the method developed so that manufacturers can test for PFAs too, adding this could be an important step in protecting agriculture while mitigating adverse health effects.