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EPA PFAS research investments target farmland, crops, and livestock

The Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded $15 million in research grants to study how PFAS, or forever chemicals, can move through crops and livestock.

Administrator Lee Zeldin tells Brownfield research and new technologies are rapidly evolving how the pollutants can be managed.

“I would not want to understate how far the technological advancements have gone,” he says. “EPA has been very involved in our own efforts with our Office of Applied Science Environmental Solutions, our Office of Water, we also have public-private partnerships.”

Among the projects, Michigan State University received $1.6 million to study PFAS accumulation on a crop and livestock farm and mitigation efforts, and the University of Illinois-Urbana received nearly $1.6 million to monitor PFAS in subsurface tile-drained fields irrigated with rural sewage and develop ways to prevent its uptake in food crops.

EPA says results could lead to additional studies across more soil types, crop uptake experiments, and modeling to evaluate PFAS transfer pathways in the food system.

Both farm bill versions list PFAS as a high-priority research area, which could also help to accelerate understanding of how the chemicals can move throughout the food supply.

The PFAS and Agriculture Policy Workgroup is calling on Congress to establish and fully fund a dedicated PFAS relief and support program for impacted farmers and ranchers.  

Zeldin was in Michigan over the weekend visiting a major superfund cleanup site, the MSU Center for PFAS Research, and with energy leaders.