
Plans to limit PFA "forever chemicals" in the USA have been halted
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The Trump administration has rolled back federal regulations on PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” which are synthetic substances linked to severe health risks like cancer and heart disease.
Plans to limit PFAS discharges in wastewater and designate the chemicals as hazardous have been halted. This decision aligns with recommendations in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, despite public health concerns and legal challenges anticipated from environmental groups.
Nancy Beck, reappointed to a senior EPA role, has faced criticism for her previous efforts to weaken PFAS regulations while working for the American Chemistry Council and during the first Trump administration. While federal protections may stall, state-led initiatives and legal safeguards like the Clean Drinking Water Act’s anti-backsliding provisions are expected to uphold existing PFAS limits. Local cleanup efforts, such as those in Washington state, remain largely governed by state laws.
Environmental advocates warn of health risks and public opposition to deregulation, signaling continued tension between public safety and corporate interests.
This is discussed in an extensive article on Firehouse.com, referenced below.
PFAS regulation was targeted by the writers of Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation document outlining potential policies for a second Trump administration.
Project 2025 calls for the federal government to "revisit the designation" of PFAS as a hazardous substance.
Environmental advocates say they will take legal action against the Trump administration to prevent PFAS regulations from weakening.
"It's clear that nobody voted for more PFAS in their drinking water, or more in their air or to have more PFAS waste disposed of in their community," said Natural Resources Defense Council Senior Director for Health Erik Olsen.
"People are learning more about the health risks from PFAS that they're being exposed to without their consent. There will be more and more pressure on Congress and on the administration to do something about this problem."
Under the new administration, Olsen believes PFAS regulation will ultimately be decided at the Office of Management and Budget, which likely will be led by Vought.
"That nominee there has been pretty clear that he wants to basically shut down most regulatory action or protections. So even if the EPA wanted to do something, it's an open question as to whether the White House would let him do anything," he added.
Olsen predicts the administration could become less successful in rolling back protections already in place.
"There's an anti-backsliding provision in the Clean Drinking Water Act that prohibits rules from being weakened. So I don't think that they will be successful in trying to weaken those standards administratively. But other rules in the pipeline that haven't been issued yet, they certainly could just sit on them and not allow them to go forward," he said.
However, local efforts to remove PFAS will not immediately be affected by the rollback.
On Thursday, toxicologist Nancy Beck was appointed by Trump to the EPA Office of Chemical Safety as a senior adviser. She previously held that position during the first Trump administration. In that first period Beck reportedly fought against stronger regulations for PFAS and other chemicals.
For more information, please refer to these resources:
1. Spokesman-Review: www.spokesman.com
2. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): www.nrdc.org
3. EPA Resources on PFAS: www.epa.gov/pfas
4. Heritage Foundation - Project 2025 Overview: www.heritage.org
Photo Credit: Illustration showing the fangers of FPAs in firefighting gear. From an idea by Bjorn Ulfsson, CTIF, executed by Chat GPT.