{"id":1594,"date":"2026-05-18T20:39:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1594"},"modified":"2026-05-18T20:39:43","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:39:43","slug":"trump-officials-plan-to-repeal-limits-on-forever-chemicals-in-drinking-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/?p=1594","title":{"rendered":"Trump officials plan to repeal limits on \u2018forever chemicals\u2019 in drinking water"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"574c7852-f599-4813-88c7-2ba2af69edb0\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A chrome tap with water flowing from it, photographed close-up with a blurred tiled background\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/d99cf8597347c3ab85ffd4e6d88db282aca50d8a\/0_0_3316_2156\/master\/3316.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"302.33413751507845\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">The plan comes just two years after the EPA set legally enforceable limits for six of the most dangerous Pfas compounds.<\/span> Photograph: Rui Vieira\/PA<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"574c7852-f599-4813-88c7-2ba2af69edb0\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">The plan comes just two years after the EPA set legally enforceable limits for six of the most dangerous Pfas compounds.<\/span> Photograph: Rui Vieira\/PA<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Trump officials plan to repeal limits on \u2018forever chemicals\u2019 in drinking water<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>EPA outlines effort to kill Biden-era rules as critics condemn RFK Jr and Lee Zeldin\u2019s \u2018hocus pocus\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Trump administration has announced a plan to kill Biden-era drinking water limits on four <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/pfas\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Pfas<\/a> \u201cforever chemicals\u201d, and to delay the implementation of standards for two other compounds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/epa\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Environmental Protection Agency<\/a> is proposing two separate rules to delay and rescind the limits. The rules must go through an approval process that can take several years, and almost certainly will be challenged in court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Trump administration\u2019s plan comes just two years after the US Environmental Protection Agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2024\/apr\/10\/pfas-forever-chemicals-limits-drinking-water\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">set legally enforceable drinking water limits<\/a> for six of the most dangerous Pfas compounds that have been studied. The chemicals include some of the most toxic substances, and are linked to a range of cancers and other serious health problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The new Trump plan aims to undo or delay those limits, which public health advocates say would put the nation\u2019s health at risk. Pfas are ubiquitous in the environment and estimated to be contaminating drinking water for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2024\/feb\/20\/pfas-us-drinking-water-tap\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">more than 200 million people<\/a> across the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">At the Monday press conference, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin and US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced the new plan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe Trump EPA is committed to Make America Healthy Again by ensuring clean air, land, and water \u2013 and by taking on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/pfas\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Pfas<\/a> the right way, across the full life cycle and built to last,\u201d Zeldin said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">PFAS are a class of at least 16,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed \u201cforever chemicals\u201d because they do not naturally break down in the environment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Public health advocates in 2024 hailed \u201chistoric\u201d limits that would dramatically improve the safety of the nation\u2019s water, and the rules marked the first time in 27 years the EPA had put in place new drinking water limits for contaminants. But the move was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/article\/2024\/aug\/27\/scientists-chemical-industry-derail-pfas-regulation-drinking-water\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">fiercely opposed<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2024\/oct\/02\/epa-drinking-water-limits-pfas-analysis\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">industry<\/a>, including those now in leadership positions at the EPA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">EPA officials said in 2024 that the limits would reduce Pfas exposure for 100 million people and help prevent thousands of illnesses, including fewer birth-weight related infant deaths, kidney-cancer deaths, bladder-cancer deaths and deaths from cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Public health advocates on Monday condemned the EPA.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cZeldin and Kennedy are trying to sell potions out of the back of a covered wagon,\u201d said Dr Anna Reade, director of Pfas advocacy at Natural Resources Defense Council. \u201cThe millions of Americans demanding safe drinking water are not going to fall for their hocus pocus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The move is widely viewed as at odds with Donald Trump\u2019s pledge to eliminate toxic chemicals from drinking water.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Kennedy is a leader of the Make America Healthy Again (Maha) movement, of which eliminating toxic chemicals from food and water is a cornerstone. Maga and Maha have been at odds over the last year as the administration fails to follow through on many of its promises.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Kennedy defended the delay and rescission of the limits at the press conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI\u2019ve read articles in the corporate media that say we\u2019re trying to roll back Pfas protections, but that\u2019s not true,\u201d Kennedy said. He said the administration was putting in place a \u201cclean water mandate\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The agency in 2024 under Biden set limits of 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for any combination of three Pfas compounds, including PFNA, PfHxS, and HFPO dimer acid, more commonly called GenX. For any combination of those three compounds and PFBS, the agency set a variable limit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The administration is proposing new rules to rescind those limits and alleged that Biden\u2019s EPA did not follow the correct legal process, moved too quickly in developing the limits, and that the limits would not survive a court challenge. The Trump EPA will \u201credo\u201d the process to determine if limits should be set for the four chemicals, which Kennedy alleged would save time by avoiding litigation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">EPA science showed that no level of exposure to PFOA and PFOS in drinking water is safe, and the agency in 2022 set non-enforceable advisory health limits of 0.02 ppt and 0.004 ppt, respectively.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Biden administration in 2024 set drinking water limits of four ppt for the two compounds, in part because that is the level at which technology can reliably detect them. The EPA said it would give utilities two extra years, until 2031, to comply with the standards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/trump-administration\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Trump administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/environment\/pfas\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Pfas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/environment\/epa\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US Environmental Protection Agency<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Trump%20officials%20plan%20to%20repeal%20limits%20on%20%E2%80%98forever%20chemicals%E2%80%99%20in%20drinking%20water&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-administration-epa-pfas-water?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F18%2Ftrump-administration-epa-pfas-water&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/18\/trump-administration-epa-pfas-water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The plan comes just two years after the EPA set legally enforceable limits for six of the most<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1594"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1597,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594\/revisions\/1597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}