EPA has been investigating the container issue since last December, when the nonprofit group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility found elevated levels of PFAS in pesticides sprayed in Massachusetts, including Anvil 10+10, a widely used mosquito repellent (E&E News PM, Jan. 15, 2021). Subsequent tests found PFAS present in additional pesticides, while EPA testing confirmed that the chemicals were in Anvil 10+10, with implications for a number of states (Greenwire, March 26, 2021). The manufacturer of Anvil has since changed the barrels it uses for the pesticides.
The agency’s efforts soon showed that the chemicals had not intentionally been added to the pesticides. Instead, they had leached into the pesticides from the HDPE barrels used to transport them.
