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Texas AG Investigates Grocery Stores Spraying Pesticides on Organic Produce Without Disclosure
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a statewide investigation into major grocery chains that spray organic fruits and vegetables with pesticides in-store without disclosing to consumers. The investigation focuses on Produce Maxx, an EPA-registered antimicrobial pesticide containing high concentrations of hypochlorous acid, which is a form of chlorine.
Thousands of stores across the United States spray it on produce through misting systems to control bacteria and extend shelf life. Consumers buying organic produce assume they haven’t been treated with pesticides, but many don’t know that stores are spraying pesticides on the organic produce while it’s on the shelf, according to a press release from Paxton. Federal law requires produce sprayed with chlorine to be rinsed with drinking water before consumption to maintain USDA organic certification.
Long-Term Exposure to Chlorpyrifos Linked to Parkinson’s Disease
People from California farm communities that had long-term exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos were more than twice as likely to later develop Parkinson’s disease compared to residents without exposure, according to a new study.
The study, published in the Molecular Neurodegeneration journal, also found several markers for Parkinson’s disease in exposed mice and zebrafish, including cell death, movement problems and brain inflammation.
It is the latest evidence that the insecticide may damage people’s brains and may play a role in causing Parkinson’s disease, an incurable, debilitating brain disease affecting more than one million Americans each year. Parkinson’s symptoms include tremors, shaking in the arms and legs, muscle stiffness, a loss of balance and coordination and difficulty speaking.
North Carolina Pushes Back as EPA Moves to Scale Back PFAS Reporting
North Carolina, long treated as a dumping ground for toxic “forever chemicals,” now finds itself at the center of a national debate over chemical regulation and public transparency. Just months before chemical companies were expected to disclose what PFAS (short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) they manufacture or import and in what amounts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to scale back the rule that would have made that information public.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is joining attorneys general from more than a dozen other states in opposing the proposal, arguing it would sharply limit transparency at a critical moment for communities already dealing with widespread contamination.
For North Carolina, the issue is not abstract. The state has spent nearly a decade grappling with PFAS pollution after chemicals discharged into the Cape Fear River Basin contaminated drinking water for hundreds of thousands of residents downstream of the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant. The contamination went undisclosed for years, forcing utilities to install costly filtration systems and reshaping environmental policy across the region.
Amazon Seeks to Discharge Used Data Center Water in Susquehanna River
E-commerce and technology giant Amazon wants to discharge used water from its massive data center along Route 11 into the Susquehanna River. Amazon Data Services Inc. is asking the state Department of Environmental Protection for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to discharge non-contact cooling water into the river. The company operates a massive data center that uses large amounts of water for cooling next to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station nuclear power plant.
Amazon seeks a permit for its proposed water discharge program and plans to operate “in a manner which meets Department requirements,” according to a legal advertisement. The state DEP has issued more than 15,000 NPDES permits to allow acceptable discharges into Commonwealth waterways, among the most in the country, according to DEP’s website.
Nuclear power plants, like the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station next to the Amazon data center, regularly return used cooling water back into rivers after obtaining permits.
Critics say the water returns warmer, harming aquatic life, and worry about possible health risks.
States Say They Need More Help Replacing Lead Pipes. Congress May Cut the Funding Instead.
The Senate is taking up a spending package passed by the House of Representatives that would cut $125 million in funding promised this year to replace toxic lead pipes.
Including three of 12 appropriations bills, this package will fund parts of the federal government, including the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Senate is slated to vote on it later this week. Near the end of more than 400 pages of text, it proposes repurposing some funds previously obligated by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
That law, advanced by the Biden administration, promised $15 billion over five years to fund the replacement of service lines — pipes routing water into people’s homes and other buildings — that are made of or contain lead, a neurotoxin that can cause cognitive, developmental, reproductive and cardiovascular harm.
