Air Date: Week of February 7, 2025

The Trump administration, on its first day in office, reversed a proposed EPA rule aimed at limiting the amount of PFAS chemicals that manufacturers could discharge into waterways. (Photo: Patrick Hendry, Unsplash)

One of the many Biden Administration rules the Trump EPA has nixed is one that would have limited the amount of toxic PFAS that petrochemical and other plants can release into waterways. Former Living on Earth intern Shannon Kelleher now reports for The New Lede, and she joins Host Paloma Beltran to explain this setback for regulating “forever chemicals” that cause cancer, immune deficiencies and other harms.

Transcript

BELTRAN: Well, another Biden rule the Trump EPA has targeted is one that would have limited the amount of toxic PFAS that petrochemical and other plants can release into waterways. The Biden administration didn’t quite get the regulation over the finish line, and the Trump White House immediately withdrew it. Joining us now is Shannon Kelleher of The New Lede, an independent newsroom of the Environmental Working Group. She also happens to be a former Living on Earth intern – so, welcome back, Shannon!

KELLEHER: Thank you. It's great to be here.

BELTRAN: For those who may not be familiar, could you explain what PFAs chemicals are and why they're often called forever chemicals?

KELLEHER: So, PFAs are a class of 1000s of human made chemicals that can be found in tons of products that we use every day, like dental floss, waterproof clothes, shampoo bottles, makeup, and they have a lot of industrial uses as well. PFAs are called forever chemicals because they don't easily break down in the environment. So, once they're out there in the world, these chemicals can stick around for hundreds or 1000s of years. I think communities that are located near these polluting facilities are especially at risk, and these tend to be low income and communities of color. However, I think PFAs is a universal problem that really affects everybody. Unfortunately, we're all being exposed to some degree, and this is a nonpartisan issue, or at least it really should be.

BELTRAN: Why are PFAs chemicals such a critical issue in the broader conversation about environmental health and justice?

KELLEHER: So PFAs, they're ending up in the environment in a number of different ways, from industrial wastewater, they can leach from landfills, they can end up in groundwater from firefighting foam, and they can be found in sewage sludge that is spread on farmland as fertilizer. They've been found on farmland in Maine and other parts of the country... Researchers with the US Geological Survey have actually found that there is at least one type of PFAs in almost half of US tap water. So, these chemicals are really hard for people to avoid, and as a result, most of us have some level of PFAs in our bodies. And PFAs has been linked to a lot of health effects in humans, even at very low doses. Some PFAs have been linked to certain types of cancer, they suppress the immune system, which can lead to reduced vaccine efficacy, they've been linked to reproductive problems and also to high cholesterol.

BELTRAN: Could you provide some context about this recent executive action by President Trump, you know, concerning PFAs? What exactly happened?

KELLEHER: This was a draft rule that was withdrawn from this White House review process. This proposed rule was designed to set limits on how much PFAs chemical manufacturers can discharge into waterways, and this rule was already considered to be long overdue. It arrived at the White House during the Biden administration, where it was supposed to be reviewed within 90 days, and this was the draft rule's last step before the plan could be released for public comment. But the rule remained in this review stage for a lot longer than 90 days, and it was still there when Trump took office on January 20th. Then on his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order that freezes any new regulations that had not yet been finalized. And the next day, on Tuesday the 21st the EPA withdrew the proposed rule on PFAs in industrial wastewater. And just to be clear, PFAs rules that were finalized already under the Biden administration are still in place, including the limit EPA set last year on PFAs in drinking water.

BELTRAN: What are the immediate implications of Trump's executive order? You know, what will probably happen now?

KELLEHER: Well, there are still no federal limits on how much PFAs industries can release into the water. So, this is a setback towards putting those limits in place, and I think people are worried that it sends a message that polluters can keep on polluting.

BELTRAN: Over the years, how have PFAs chemicals been handled or neglected by public policy? Are there some key milestones or oversights that stand out to you?

KELLEHER: Well, the EPA has known that PFAs is linked to health problems since 1998, but it took a long time to act. In 2016, the EPA set a Lifetime Health Advisory for two particularly notorious PFAs chemicals, PFOA and PFOS in drinking water, and that was set at 70 parts per trillion, but this wasn't an enforceable standard. In the meantime, some states set their own limits on PFAs in drinking water, but then last year, 2024, was a big year for PFAs regulations in the US, because that's when the EPA set the first federal enforceable limits for PFAs in drinking water. These limits apply to six PFAs chemicals, and for PFOA and PFOS, they're limited to just four parts per trillion in drinking water. So, that was a big deal. And around that same time, EPA designated those two PFAs chemicals as hazardous substances under the Superfund law, or CERCLA, and that designation is supposed to help make sure polluters pay to investigate spills and clean up contamination, instead of taxpayers having to foot the bill.

BELTRAN: From your reporting, what have experts expressed in terms of what's the solution here?

KELLEHER: Yeah, in my reporting, experts that I've spoken with tend to agree on two things in particular that could really help. For one thing, no longer using PFAs for non-essential uses, like in things like makeup or cookware. Industry is really creative, and I think a lot of the time there are just less toxic ways of making the products that we use in our daily lives. Another point that comes up a lot is regulating PFAs as a class. This is a group of 1000s of chemicals, so when we just regulate them a handful at a time, that's not always as effective, because industry can, for example, switch over to other kinds of PFAs that may still be toxic. So, I definitely think it's clear that there's still a lot that needs to be done.

BELTRAN: And how do these recent actions by the Trump administration set us back in terms of PFAs regulation?

KELLEHER: We don't really know going forward what Trump is going to do on PFAs. I think some people are concerned, because just in his first few days in office, Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement and put these other executive orders in motion opposing renewable energy and supporting oil and gas development. And this is also an administration that says it wants fewer regulations, smaller federal government. In light of all that, I think people I've spoken with are worried about how that mindset could also impact rules that would regulate PFAs. And I think it's also worth noting that Project 2025, which is basically a blueprint that a conservative think tank called the Heritage Foundation, developed for the Trump administration, that document has some concerning language in it about PFAs. It specifically says that the administration should revisit the designation of PFAs chemicals as hazardous substances under the Superfund law. You know, that kind of language is concerning. But to be fair, we don't really know what Trump is going to do yet on PFAs. And Lee Zeldin, who was just confirmed as EPA Administrator, has said he would make PFAs a priority. So, I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

BELTRAN: Shannon Kelleher is a reporter at The New Lede, an independent initiative of the Environmental Working Group. Thank you so much for joining us.

KELLEHER: Thanks so much for having me!

 

Links

Read Shannon Kelleher’s investigative report on recent policy changes regarding PFAS

Visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website dedicated to PFAS

Explore the Environmental Working Group’s interactive PFAS contamination map to learn about affected areas