US EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy, Jr announced plans to delay enforcement of national drinking water standards for two types of PFAS “forever chemicals” (PFOA and PFOS) and to roll back drinking water standards for four additional PFAS compounds (GenX, PFBS, PFHxS and PFNA).
Toxic-Free Future and Safer States responded to the announcement -
“Communities across the country are already paying with their health and taxpayer dollars because of widespread PFAS contamination in our tap water,” said Liz Hitchcock, director of federal policy at Toxic-Free Future. “Today’s announcement is one more step in a chemical industry-backed assault on federal public health protections. EPA’s action to roll back these standards will prolong exposure and leave communities in danger from this contamination. EPA must put our health first.”
“Today’s decision puts the interests of chemical manufacturers ahead of the health of families and communities,” said Sarah Doll, national director of Safer States. “Safe drinking water should not depend on where you live or whether states can afford to clean up contamination after the fact. The science is clear that PFAS threaten human health; and delaying protections will only increase costs for states and prolong exposure to toxic chemicals that should never have been allowed to contaminate drinking water in the first place.”
