Heavy metals detected in the soil have also created health implications for Monterey County’s agriculture industry, and the workers who pick the produce.

Top political appointees are already at the E.P.A. preparing to erase the agency’s climate rules and pollution controls. Many of them have tried it before.

The findings give new insight into the dangers of urban wildfires that burn plastics and other chemicals in homes and property.

Levels of PFAS in sewage sludge used as fertilizer can pose risks that sometimes exceed safety thresholds “by several orders of magnitude,” the agency said.

Wastewater, even after treatment to make it drinkable, contains high levels of PFAS, according to researchers.