Reply to the EPA’s “Delayed Decision” to Keep PFAS Out of the U.S. and Implications for Water Quality and Public Health
“We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water. At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a press release. The agency will put out a more detailed proposal this fall in order to make sure the rule is finalized in the spring of next year.
PFAS are a class of thousands of chemicals that have been used for decades to waterproof and stainproof a variety of products including clothing, cosmetics, upholstery and firefighting foams. They’re sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they contain strong molecular bonds that persist for decades. Long-term exposure to PFAS has been linked with harms to human health, such as certain cancers or damage to the liver and immune systems.
“That doesn’t mean that [the limits] gets weaker…when I go through a process and we follow the law, at the end of it, the final [levels] might be a lower number, not a higher number,” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said at a Congressional hearing on May 14.
The proposed exclusions and enforcement delays were slammed by health and environmental advocates. Mary Grant, water program director at the nonprofit Food & Water Watch said in a press statement that the decision was a dangerous capitulation to industry pressure and that it would allow continued contaminated drinking water. “This will cost lives.”
The American Water Works Associations and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies sent an email to their members in support of the EPA’s decision to withdraw the regulations and ensure they respect the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“This commonsense decision provides the additional time that water system managers need to identify affordable treatment technologies and make sure they are on a sustainable path to compliance,” National Rural Water Association CEO Matthew Holmes said in the EPA press release.
There are so calledforever chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, reproductive risks, liver damage, and other health issues, that the Trump administration plans to weaken drinking water rules.
In April, the EPA said it would launch new efforts to study the chemicals and consider guidelines to limit pollution from manufacturers. At the time, advocacy groups were wary that the agency might simply delay action by calling for more studies — especially as the Trump administration attempts to slash the agency’s staff, budget, and research department. Since President Donald Trump took office, advocates have been pushing for drinking water limits because of the health risks.
EPA Clean Water Limits on Forbidden Chemicals, and Implications for Generation X Substitutes in the U.S.
is a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home , a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.
Last year the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the first legally enforceable federal drinking water limits on the most common types of forever chemicals. The EPA decided to change course today. The agency now wants to exclude several types of the chemicals from the rule, including so-called GenX substances initially intended to replace older versions of forever chemicals but that ended up creating new concerns. It also proposed extending compliance deadlines for the two most prevalent forms of forever chemicals, and says it’ll establish a “framework” for more exemptions.
In addition to five common types of chemicals, the standards set limits for several other chemicals as well.