Why Trump administration's plan to attempt to destroy Pfas is 'nonsenscial'
Source: The Guardian
Why Trump administration’s plan to attempt to destroy Pfas is ‘nonsenscial’
The EPA said it was cutting Biden-era regulations on Pfas in drinking water, but advocates say the move will harm public health and benefit industry
Tom Perkins
Tue 26 May 2026 13.00 BST
Last modified on Tue 26 May 2026 13.01 BST
A new Trump administration plan to ditch Pfas drinking water regulations and instead attempt to destroy “forever chemicals” on a wide scale tears a page from the fossil fuel industry’s carbon capture playbook, and will benefit the industry while harming public health.
The US Environmental Protection Agency last week announced it is moving to kill strong Biden-era drinking water limits around four Pfas compounds, and delaying implementation for two more. It represented a blow to public health – advocates say strong limits and a dramatic cut in the production of the dangerous chemicals are imperative.
Still, the press conference was billed as a “Pfas destruction event”, and administration leaders largely spent their time touting an “explosion in destruction technology”, and EPA investment in industry efforts to protect public health by eliminating the chemicals.
They were, in effect, suggesting they had a solution to a crisis that did not require the drinking water regulations. The problem with the Trump plan: technology that fully destroys Pfas does not exist, and while progress is being made in its development, it is unclear when – if ever – it may be deployed on an industrial scale.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/26/trump-administration-pfas-drinking-water-regulation
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