While more and more studies report the presence of PFAS, “forever chemicals” or “eternal chemicals,” in drinking water, the Trump administration has decided to dismantle a central part of the rules introduced by former President Joe Biden in 2024 to limit their presence, reopening a clash that intertwines public health, industrial interests, and environmental regulation.
The new strategy announced by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cancels the protections provided for four of these substances and postpones the application of limits for two others, despite being linked for years to cancers, immune system damage, and other serious diseases. A choice that has provoked immediate criticism from environmental associations, researchers, and part of the same “Make America Healthy Again” movement led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
TRUMP’S PLAN
The EPA, led by Lee Zeldin, announced two new regulatory proposals that dismantle part of the restrictions introduced during the Biden administration. The first maintains limits for PFOA and PFOS, two of the most studied PFAS, but grants water systems the possibility to request an extension until 2031 to comply with the standards. The second instead revokes the limits set in 2024 for PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA – also known as GenX – and for mixtures of these compounds together with PFBS.
According to the EPA, the Biden administration violated the Safe Drinking Water Act by improperly accelerating the regulatory process and limiting the possibility of public comment. “The Biden administration took shortcuts and did not comply with the law,” Zeldin stated during the plan presentation, adding that the new rules will be “science-based and legally defensible.”
Kennedy Jr. also defended the decision, arguing that the previous rules would have been overturned in court.
WHAT PFAS ARE AND WHY THEY WORRY
PFAS include at least 16,000 synthetic chemical compounds used since the 1940s to make products waterproof, non-stick, and stain-resistant. They are found practically everywhere, in food packaging, firefighting foams, fabrics, carpets, dental floss, and numerous other consumer goods.
They are called “eternal chemicals” because they do not naturally degrade in the environment and tend to accumulate in the human body. According to the EPA and research cited by federal administrations, exposure to PFAS has been linked to kidney and bladder cancer, high cholesterol, thyroid diseases, infertility, liver damage, hormonal changes, weakening of the immune system, and delays in child development.
A government study from 2023 detected PFAS in nearly half of U.S. tap water, while the EPA had estimated that over 200 million people could be exposed to these substances through drinking water.
BIDEN ERA RULES AND THE CLASH WITH INDUSTRY
In 2024, the Biden administration introduced the first legally binding federal limits on PFAS in drinking water after the EPA concluded that there are no safe levels of exposure to PFOA and PFOS. At the time, recalls the Guardian, the Agency estimated that the new rules would reduce exposure for about 100 million people and prevent thousands of illnesses and deaths, including cases of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
However, the rules, as CNN writes, immediately became the center of a legal battle. The American Chemistry Council and the National Association of Manufacturers filed a lawsuit against the EPA arguing that the limits were “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.” The American Water Works Association and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies also challenged the rules, requesting that compliance costs fall on polluters and not municipal water systems.
According to utilities, reports the New York Times, the actual implementation costs would have been more than double the Biden administration’s estimates, which had forecast an annual expenditure of about 1.5 billion dollars. Congress had nevertheless allocated about 9 billion dollars to address PFAS contamination and improve water infrastructure.
CRITICISMS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
The Trump administration’s decision has provoked harsh reactions from environmental and public health organizations. Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group (EWG), accused the EPA of “giving in to pressure from chemical industry lobbyists and water companies,” arguing that “millions of Americans will drink contaminated water for years to come.”
Even harsher was the judgment of Anna Reade of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who said “Zeldin and Kennedy are trying to sell potions from the back of a covered wagon,” but American citizens “will not be fooled by their snake oil tricks.”
Actor Mark Ruffalo, cited by Kennedy for the film “Dark Waters,” which helped popularize the PFAS issue in the United States, attacked the EPA initiative: “Weakening drinking water standards related to PFAS will make America sicker, not healthier. The motto of this administration should be: ‘Make America Cancerous Again.’”
TENSIONS WITHIN THE “MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN” MOVEMENT
But the EPA’s choice has also opened rifts within the Make America Healthy Again movement, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and founded precisely on the promise to reduce citizens’ exposure to toxic substances in water and food.
According to the NYT, several activists close to the movement expressed strong disappointment over the deregulation of PFAS. Kelly Ryerson, known on social media as “Glyphosate Girl,” stated that there is “more than enough evidence” on the danger of eternal substances and warned the EPA “not to proceed with PFAS deregulation” if the administration wants to maintain political support.
Alexandra Muñoz, molecular toxicologist and MAHA activist, questioned the EPA’s real intention to reintroduce limits for GenX and other compounds in the future: “How much more time will be lost before regulating GenX, which is incredibly dangerous and widely used?”
THE EPA PLAN AND NEW FUNDING
To accompany the new regulatory plan, the EPA announced nearly one billion dollars in funding allocated to states to address PFAS and emerging contaminants in drinking water through the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant program.
The Agency also claimed the development of new technologies for PFAS removal and destruction, including granular activated carbon, reverse osmosis, electrochemical oxidation, and supercritical water treatment. According to the EPA, reducing contamination at the source would lower costs for water systems and limit the accumulation of contaminated residues.
The two regulatory proposals will now undergo a 60-day public consultation and will be discussed in a hearing scheduled for July 7, 2026.
