STOP EPA’s “Emergency” Use of Unregistered PFAS Pesticide on Rice

PROPOSED RULE: Application for Emergency Exemption: Tetflupyrolimet
Regulations.gov Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPP-2025-3555-0001
Comment Period: February 27, 2026 to March 16, 2026
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has asked for your comments on its proposed granting of an “emergency exemption” allowing the use of the unregistered PFAS pesticide tetflupyrolimet (TFP) on rice grown in the United States. If approved, the pesticide could be applied on up to 646,000 acres of rice in Arkansas and Missouri between March and July 2026.

The pesticide would be used to control herbicide-resistant barnyardgrass, a weed that threatens rice yields. However, the chemical has not been fully registered or evaluated through the normal pesticide approval process, and EPA is now accepting public comments before deciding whether to allow this emergency use.

A PFAS “Forever Chemical”

Tetflupyrolimet belongs to the class of chemicals known as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) — widely known as “forever chemicals.” PFAS persist in the environment for decades or longer because they do not easily break down in soil or water.

Once released into the environment, PFAS can accumulate in:

• Soil
• Groundwater
• Surface water
• Crops and food
• Wildlife and the human body

Because they are highly persistent and mobile chemicals, PFAS contamination can and will spread far beyond the fields where they are applied.

Risks to Water and Soil

The product label for tetflupyrolimet warns that it can run off into surface water and leach into groundwater, especially in areas with shallow water tables or permeable soils.

Rice is grown in flooded paddies, which are intentionally flooded agricultural fields, making it likely that pesticides will move into nearby waterways. Contamination would affect:

• Drinking water sources
• Aquatic ecosystems
• Downstream communities

Once PFAS enter soil or water systems, they are extremely difficult — and often impossible — to remove.

Persistent Breakdown Products

Tetflupyrolimet, as well as certain other PFAS pesticides, break down into trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), a persistent compound that can harm ecosystems and may cause liver and reproductive toxicity and developmental effects.

PFAS Health Concerns

Exposure to PFAS has been associated with serious health risks, including:

• Immune system suppression
• Developmental effects in infants and children
• Hormone disruption
• Liver damage
• Reproductive toxicity
• Increased risk of certain cancers, including kidney, testicular, thyroid, liver, and pancreatic cancers and higher rates of thyroid, mouth/throat, soft tissue, breast, and uterine cancers

Even extremely small concentrations of PFAS in drinking water can pose health concerns. EPA health advisories indicate that near-zero levels as low as 0.02 parts per trillion may cause adverse health effects.

A Dangerous Precedent

Allowing the widespread use of a new PFAS pesticide under an “emergency” exemption would set a troubling precedent — particularly when safer, non-PFAS approaches to weed management exist.

If organic farmers can farm rice without the use of synthetic pesticides, then tetflupyrolimet is not necessary and certainly not an emergency.

It also raises concerns about the increasing use of emergency exemptions to bypass the full safety review required for pesticide registration.

We must step up and take this opportunity to make our voices heard: Forever chemicals do not belong in our food system!