Dear RCC Supporter,

We urgently need your support now for a bill protecting Maryland from massive PFAS contamination from pesticides.

SB158 Pesticide Registration – PFAS Testing – Requirements Bill was heard before the Maryland Senate Committee on Thursday. They could be voting on the bill as soon as next week. It is critical for all Senators to hear from their constituents this week that you want this bill passed. 

If the Senate Committee votes against the bill, it will end our efforts for this year to ban PFAS from pesticides. This means that we will have 2 more years (at least) of unregulated PFAS contamination from millions of pounds of pesticides on our food crops, in our communities, our farmland, drinking water, fisheries — and in our bodies, forever.Recently PFAS was found in pesticides at extraordinarily high levels. The crops treated with these common pesticides contained PFAS at thousands of times the EPA maximum allowance for safe drinking water. Millions of pounds of pesticides are applied annually in Maryland—that end up in the air, our soil, and the Bay, as well as our bodies—and we know some of them contain PFAS at extremely high levels.

Similar to other toxic chemicals that cause dangerous health impacts such as lead, asbestos, and formaldehyde, the first step is identifying the problem and the next step is taking action, including setting smart, common-sense regulations to protect the public from harmful chemicals. 

Reducing PFAS contaminants in our food, air, water, and soil will make all Marylanders – children and adults, especially pregnant women – safer, and protect our environment from toxic accumulation of PFAS forever chemicals.

Thank you for taking action!