The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is walking back water limits for several toxic PFAS chemicals, sparking outcry from scientists and public health advocates. But how much of a difference can limits on individual PFAS compounds make if thousands of others remain unregulated?
Joseph Winters reports for Grist.
In short:
- The EPA will retain strict limits on two well-known PFAS compounds — PFOA and PFOS — but delay compliance until 2031 and drop limits for four other harmful chemicals.
- Scientists argue the rollback could allow dangerous chemicals like GenX to persist in drinking water, especially in states like North Carolina and Ohio, where industrial contamination is widespread.
- Experts say regulating PFAS one by one is futile given their similar structures and cumulative health risks, and instead urge regulation of the entire class.
Key quote:
"We have to turn off the spigot and stop using these things so that five generations from now, our great-great-great grandchildren won’t be dealing with them.”
— Erik Olson, a senior strategist for the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council
Why this matters:
The EPA just hit the brakes on some of the nation’s first drinking water limits for PFAS — those so-called “forever chemicals” that never really go away — and health experts are sounding the alarm. PFAS chemicals are linked to cancer, heart disease, and developmental harm—and they don’t break down in the environment or the human body. The EPA's retreat from tougher standards risks deepening a public health crisis and signals broader regulatory dysfunction in protecting Americans from industrial toxics. But what's really needed, experts say, is a less piecemeal approach to these persistent, ubiquitous chemicals.
Read more: What are PFAS?
