USDA can remediate 'forever chemical' pollution on U.S. farmlands, new study shows

The new report found that the USDA can respond to
PFAS contamination on U.S. farmland. (TNL photo)

The Department of Agriculture has the resources to address PFAS contamination on U.S. farmland, a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine report finds.

The study, which was partially sponsored by the USDA, lists the various tools and remediation planning that can be used to reduce contamination caused by "human-made chemicals that accumulate in the environment and the bodies of humans and animals," which are collectively called "PFAS" or "forever chemicals," reports Shannon Kelleher for The New Lede.

Fertilizer use is one way farmers have unintentionally polluted their soil with forever chemicals. Kelleher explains, "PFAS end up on agricultural lands when farmers apply tainted sewage sludge as a fertilizer, contaminating crops and soil with chemicals linked to certain cancers and other health harms." Forever chemicals can also be added to soil through PFAS-laced pesticides.

The report included a remediation outline and noted that the USDA could leverage its considerable resources to address the farmland PFAS crisis. Researchers suggested the USDA use predictive models, on-site testing and "develop PFAS screening levels for different types of agriculture facilities, soil types and climates," Kelleher reports.

The report also recommends the USDA analyze how forever chemicals interact with different soils and climates to "develop better mechanisms to trap or sequester PFAS, and research ways to minimize the uptake of PFAS in plants and animals," Kelleher writes.

The February Farm Bill draft includes "language that would permit research grants on the agricultural impacts of PFAS in land exposed to firefighting foams, sewage sludge or compost containing the chemicals," Kelleher adds.