The Trump administration has announced plans to weaken drinking water limits for toxic “forever chemicals” despite its promises to “Make America Healthy Again.”
“Forever chemicals” are toxic substances that are found in the tap water of nearly half of the U.S. population. There are thousands of these substances and they can last for hundreds or even thousands of years in the environment.
Exposure to these chemicals, also known as PFAS, has been linked to health issues including cancer, kidney and thyroid issues, weakened immune systems and fertility issues.
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In 2024, the Biden administration set the first-ever limits on six types of PFAS. It said at the time that its action would reduce exposure to PFAS for about 100 million people, preventing 9,600 deaths and nearly 30,000 illnesses in the coming decades.
Under the Biden-era rules, public drinking water systems were required to test for these chemicals. If it found them, they’d have to install technology to filter them out by 2029.
The Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it will no longer require filtration of four of those six PFAS. For the two PFAS that will still need to be filtered out, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is delaying the requirements to do so by two years.
Now, public water systems with just two types of PFAS — PFOA and PFOS — will be required to filter out those chemicals by 2031.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin described the changes as “common-sense flexibility.”
“We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water,” Zeldin said in a written statement.
“At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance. This will support water systems across the country, including small systems in rural communities, as they work to address these contaminants,” he added.
Other types of PFAS, those known as GenX, PFBS, PFHxS and PFNA, will be newly excluded from the rule.
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Activist Emily Donovan, whose North Carolina community has faced GenX contamination, criticized the EPA’s decision.
“This current administration promised voters it would ‘Make America Healthy Again’ but rescinding part of the PFAS drinking water standards does no such thing,” Donovan said.
“It’s disrespectful to PFAS contaminated communities who have suffered debilitating illnesses and devastating losses. This is a clear victory for the trillion dollar chemical industry — not public health. Americans need to call their members of congress immediately and demand action,” she added.
The Trump administration has repeatedly vowed to “Make America Healthy Again” but many of its actions have come in stark contrast to that promise — including its plans to roll back regulations on various toxic chemicals.
—Updated at 10:57 a.m. EDT
