Trump Promises Clean Water. Will He Clean Up PFAS?

These chemicals are in the tap water of the majority of Americans, and the Trump administration could decide their fate.No, not fluoride, the cavity-fighter that Robert F.Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald J.

Trump’s health secretary pick, wants out of public drinking water.Rather, they’re harmful “forever chemicals,” also known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS.For all of Mr.

Kennedy’s talk, and his contentious views on fluoride, larger battles loom over chemicals in the water we drink.Public health advocates worry that federal efforts to protect the public against PFAS and replace lead pipes could unravel under a Trump presidency.In a landmark move earlier this year, President Biden ordered utilities to start ridding the nation’s drinking water of six kinds of PFAS, which are linked to cancer and other health risks.

Chemical companies have already sued over the PFAS order, and are expected to seek a swift repeal of it from the Trump administration.“Attacking basic fundamental protections, like the safety of people’s tap water, would be unprecedented,” said Erik Olson, who oversees environmental health at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit that sparred with the first Trump administration over policy rollbacks.“As the public becomes aware of that,” Mr.Olson said, “I think people are going to be very upset, saying: ‘Look, I didn’t vote for toxic chemicals in my water.’”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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