As Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calls for the removal of forever chemicals, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin is putting “every single American” at risk by rolling back regulations, according to an MSNBC column by Rachel Frazin and Sharon Udasin.
The pair are co-authors of "Poisoning the Well: How Forever Chemicals Contaminated America," and the oxymoronic calls from Trump administrators are not lost on them.
“Today, the Trump administration is currently straddling the divide between the burgeoning MAHA movement and its traditional big business allies,” they said.
Forever chemicals are ingested by about 45% of Americans through the water supply, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are about 15,000 human-made chemicals contaminating U.S. tap water across the country.
“While the impacts of PFAS contamination are ubiquitous — they pose a potential threat to every single American — among the most affected communities are those that live downstream from industrial or military discharges,” Frazin and Udasin said.
They praised the Trump administration's announcement to look into forever chemicals because it could “go beyond the actions taken by the Biden administration.”
However, the writers believe this good news is overshadowed by “many officials with chemical industry ties have been given major roles at the EPA, and the agency has rescinded a portion of the drinking water regulations and said that it plans to roll back regulations on other toxic chemicals.”
Forever chemicals are connected to diseases like kidney and testicular cancers as well as fertility issues. The authors feel if Kennedy (and Trump) want to make good on their Make America Healthy Again promises, “this is certainly a place to start.”
Yet, they believe Zeldin “is watering down” Biden’s policies prohibiting the four chemicals from our water. The good news according to the authors is that two forever chemicals, which Biden’s administration put regulations on, will stay in place. “Companies now have until 2031 to eliminate them from the drinking supply,” they said.