Experts Warn EPA’s PFAS Rule Change Harms Environment

Article Summary –

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing changes that would weaken the reporting and monitoring rules for PFAS, which are synthetic chemicals linked to health issues like cancers and immune dysfunction. These proposed changes would extend the reporting timeline and offer exemptions to certain companies, while the Trump administration has also filed a motion to vacate parts of the EPA’s 2024 rule on drinking water limits for PFAS. Currently, the EPA can monitor only 40 PFAS chemicals, although nearly 70 million acres of U.S. farmland may be contaminated, emphasizing the need for expanded detection capabilities.

By Freda Ross

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing changes that experts argue will weaken rules for reporting and monitoring PFAS, known as toxic “forever chemicals.”

These synthetic chemicals, present in nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, and firefighting foam, are linked to cancers, thyroid disease, immune dysfunction, and developmental harm in children. The Biden administration previously mandated manufacturers to report PFAS usage data by this year.

Betsy Southerland, a retired EPA scientist and Environmental Protection Network member, mentioned the changes would extend the timeline and exempt some companies.

“This new rule offers at least another year,” Southerland noted. “It also exempts many who would have reported their PFAS use.”

The Trump administration has filed a motion to vacate parts of the EPA’s 2024 rule that sets drinking water limits for PFAS, aiming to remove enforceable standards for four PFAS types.

Southerland stated the agency is lagging in identifying which PFAS chemicals are in the environment and their risks to humans, highlighting that science currently detects only a fraction of these chemicals.

“It took years for the EPA to monitor 40 PFAS chemicals in water and sediments,” Southerland said. “We need to identify what other PFAS chemicals we can measure.”

The EPA recently set limits on six PFAS chemicals, with evidence showing harm to human health. The Environmental Working Group reports nearly 70 million acres of U.S. farmland could be contaminated by PFAS.