Above Image: EPA announces PFAS strategy in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2026. Photo by Julia Cohen.
On May 18, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would repeal limits and delay regulations on PFAS “forever chemicals” in drinking water, putting public health at risk. While the agency framed the move as a “scientifically sound” strategy offering “real solutions to reduce PFAS exposure for Americans,” it is, in reality, a handout to PFAS polluters disguised as public protection.
“There are thousands of variations of PFAS ‘forever chemicals,’ yet drinking water standards have only been established for six of them. Now, those few protections will be rolled back or weakened. Forever chemicals are found in everyday plastic products, exposing men, women and children to serious known health risks. Our leaders have more than enough evidence to act to reduce our exposure immediately” –Julia Cohen, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Plastic Pollution Coalition
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of nearly 15,000 manufactured chemicals that are frequently added to consumer products made of plastics, including clothing, cookware, and furniture, as well as beverage and food packaging. The EPA plans to repeal limits on four types of PFAS in drinking water—GenX, PFHxS, PFNA, and PFBS—rolling back drinking water standards established under the Biden Administration. Those standards marked the first time in 30 years that the EPA had set limits for a new drinking water contaminant. Actions to repeal these limits could soon come under legal scrutiny due to anti-backsliding provisions in the Safe Drinking Water Act intended to ensure water standards are maintained or expanded, not weakened.
While the EPA is funding $1 billion to states for reduction efforts, the Agency is simultaneously undercutting progress by granting water utilities a two-year delay to regulate PFOS and PFOA, pushing the deadline from 2029 to 2031. The Biden Administration had determined there was no safe level of those contaminants in drinking water, and this setback will result in two more years of communities drinking polluted water. If the EPA is indeed “reaffirming its commitment to Make America Healthy Again,” it must take action now to prevent human exposure to PFAS.
The Dangers of PFAS
PFAS are often added to products because of their ability to resist water, heat, and oil. Unfortunately, this useful set of qualities also indicates their danger—PFAS do not readily degrade, and instead persistently accumulate in the environment and living beings. PFAS have been consistently detected in air, soil, water, and human bodies, demonstrating extensive contamination of the planet and people.
In the United States, at least 45% of tap water is contaminated with PFAS. Their presence may be even greater in private wells, which are not tested as regularly or rigorously as public water systems. PFAS contamination in the U.S. disproportionately harms low-income, rural, Black, Indigenous, frontline and fenceline communities. These communities are significantly more likely to have high levels of PFAS in their drinking water and live in close proximity to sites contaminated with PFAS, from either current or historical industrial sites.
PFAS in drinking water can be harmful to a person’s health even at low levels. Exposure has been linked to increased risk of some cancers, interference in vaccine response, harm to the immune system function, liver damage, hormone interference, significant developmental effects in children, and decreased fertility, among others. In the U.S., many communities have first-hand experience of the devastating, if not deadly effects of PFAS contamination in water.
This announcement follows a string of efforts by the Administration to roll back critical environmental and human health protections. While dressed-up as a “holistic approach” to addressing PFAS, the EPA is handing concessions to polluters, and ultimately delaying meaningful protections from a dangerous chemical class with well documented evidence of harm.
