Tag: water

September 19th, 2025

NATIONAL – The National PFAS Contamination Coalition strongly denounces the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent legal filing to withdraw and vacate maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for four toxic PFAS chemicals — GenX, PFNA, PFBS, and PFHxS — that were legally established in 2024.

Instead of defending the nation’s first-ever enforceable drinking water standards for PFAS, the EPA is now actively aligning with chemical manufacturers and water utility lobbyists who have sought to weaken or eliminate these protections through lawsuits. These motions represent a dangerous betrayal of the agency’s mission and a direct assault on the health of millions of Americans.

“Lee Zeldin seems set on abandoning the life-saving Maximum Contamination Limits introduced by a more functional iteration of the agency. Regulation for these toxic chemicals would have provided greater assurance for safe drinking water across the nation. This legal filing has begun a process that deteriorates not only the health of families across the country but also further erodes the public’s trust in government institutions and corporate interests alike.” Said Victor Davila, co-facilitator of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition and Clean Water Director at Slingshot.

“Once again we are faced with the hard truths that the current administration will put corporate influences before the very people they were to represent and above all, have a duty to protect. What an appalling setback.  I, like many others living in a PFAS contaminated community, have direct experience and understand the consequences of compromising the health and safety of people’s lives with polluters’ interests.  Abandoning progress that was made over the last few years to ensure safe drinking water for families across our nation is an insult to those harmed by PFAS and certainly many more in the future.” Jennifer Rawlison, Newburgh Clean Water Project

“By abandoning these critical standards, the EPA has chosen to protect corporate profits over public health,” said Sandy Wynn, Co-facilitator, National PFAS Contamination Coalition. “Communities poisoned by PFAS fought for decades to secure safe drinking water. The agency’s reversal is nothing short of a gift to industry and a devastating blow to families already living with the health impacts of PFAS exposure.”

“Our communities are being poisoned—through water, food, air, and products—while corporations profit. PFAS forever chemicals are forever.  Public health must never be sacrificed for profit. Enough is enough. We demand accountability, transparency, and urgent action. Clean water, clean air, and safe food are human rights—not bargaining chips for industry.” – Hope Grosse Co-founder Buxmont Coalition for Safer Water, PA

“By abandoning these critical standards, the EPA has chosen to protect corporate profits over public health. Communities poisoned by PFAS fought for decades to secure safe drinking water. The agency’s reversal is nothing short of a gift to industry and a devastating blow to families already living with the health impacts of PFAS exposure.” Cindy Boyle, Save Our Water S.O.H2O – Wisconsin

“This is a victory for companies like Chemours and no one else.” – Emily Donovan, co-founder of Clean Cape Fear

“We only have to look back at the response by the first manufacturers of PFAS chemicals to realize that a lack of action is detrimental to human health and the environment. Having prior knowledge and consciously choosing to not take action is negligence. Praemonitus, praemunitus.”– Cheryl M. Cail Acting Chief, Waccamaw Indian People

Background

• In 2024, the EPA finalized legally enforceable drinking water standards for six PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
• September 11, 2025, the EPA filed a motion in the D.C. Circuit Court to withdraw and vacate standards for GenX, PFNA, PFBS, and PFHxS.
• These filings come in direct response to lawsuits filed by the chemical industry and water utility associations — industries with deep financial interests in avoiding accountability for PFAS contamination.

Why This Matters

PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” are linked to cancer, liver and kidney damage, immune dysfunction, reproductive harm, and developmental issues. Communities across the country rely on these standards as the only line of defense against decades of unchecked pollution. Weakening or eliminating them directly exposes millions to unnecessary and preventable harm.

Even more contradictory, at the same time the EPA is preserving maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for the legacy compounds PFOA and PFOS, a September 8 EPA motion filed in the AFFF MDL (Multi District Litigation) moved to actively review PFOA and PFOS hazardous substance designation under CERCLA, signaling the EPA may reconsider that rule. This reversal would strip communities of one of the most powerful legal tools available to hold major industrial polluters accountable for cleanup costs.

By maintaining the MCLs while eliminating the CERCLA threat, the EPA is effectively admitting: there is too much science to ignore PFOA and PFOS completely, but this new EPA will make sure that enforcement is as painless as possible for industry. This strategy prioritizes polluter protection over public health and undermines decades of work to secure accountability.

The Coalition’s Call

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition calls on the EPA to:
1. Immediately withdraw its motions to vacate the four PFAS standards.
2. Defend the legally established 2024 rule in full, as required under the Safe Drinking Water Act’s anti-backsliding provisions.
3. Prioritize public health, not industry profits, in all regulatory decisions.

“This is not a neutral legal maneuver — it is a calculated decision that prioritizes polluters over people. The EPA must be held accountable,” said Victor Davila, co-facilitator of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition and Clean Water Director at Slingshot.

About the National PFAS Contamination Coalition

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition is a grassroots alliance of community groups across the United States working to end PFAS pollution, demand corporate accountability, and secure safe drinking water for all.

For Immediate Release | May 19th, 2025

NATIONAL – For nearly over a decade, PFAS-contaminated community groups have been on the frontlines demanding federal protection from PFAS exposures. The National PFAS Contamination Coalition (NPCC), which includes over 42 community groups acutely impacted by PFAS contamination, fiercely opposes EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s announcement that will weaken standards for four PFAS and delay the implementation of two others.

“This announcement is devastating,” shared National PFAS Contamination Coalition Co-Facilitator Sandy Wynn-Stelt. “We already waited far too long for these drinking water standards. People have been exposed for decades, and people are getting sick.”

PFAS are a class of highly toxic chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems, such as cancer, thyroid disease, liver damage, and immune system disorders. They are often called “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment. There are currently no proven, safe disposal methods for PFAS. 

“Impacted communities have been raising the alarm bells and tirelessly organizing for drinking water protections for years. This is a disturbing step in the wrong direction.” said Dana Colihan, co-facilitator of the National PFAS Contamination Coalition and Co-Executive Director of Slingshot.  

Communities all across the nation were contaminated by PFAS without consent for decades while a handful of chemical companies, along with the US military and civilian fire service, knowingly hid the dangers of these toxicants from regulators, soldiers, firefighters, factory-workers, and the general public. 

The EPA acknowledges there are over 14,000 different PFAS compounds primarily used as convenience chemicals for stain- and water-resistance properties. In the United States, PFAS contamination impacts over 200 million people’s drinking water sources, and PFAS have been detected in 99% of American bodies. 

The National PFAS Contamination Coalition strongly urges Administrator Zeldin to reconsider the EPA’s trajectory regarding PFAS. Delaying or rolling back existing federal PFAS standards will place an unfair burden back on communities to demand public water providers once again voluntarily test, monitor and  treat for the short chain and ultrashort chain PFAS currently in commercial use. 

“We will continue to fight to protect strong drinking water standards, for justice for the victims of PFAS exposure, and to turn off the tap of contamination to ensure a contamination crisis of this scale never happens again” remarked NPCC co-facilitator Dana Colihan. 

Responses from community members impacted by PFAS contamination around the country:

Laurene Allen of Merrimack Citizens for Clean Water in Merrimack, NH: “As a PFAS impacted community advocate who has been engaged in federal policy since the first in the nation 2018 EPA PFAS listening session in NH, I am stunned at this administration’s course which moves us backwards. The national water standards for 6 PFAS are based on the most rigorous science and the EPA is well aware of the harm to health from drinking water exposure. We are exposed as a class, keeping the focus on 2 legacy PFAS ignores the immense body of toxicological evidence the EPA has accrued is a travesty. In an administration that claims they will Make America Healthy Again, today’s announcement is an insultive action that shows how reality is being manipulated for profits.” 

Emily Donovan of Clean Cape Fear in Wilmington, NC: “This current administration promised voters it would ‘Make America Healthy Again’ but rescinding part of the PFAS drinking water standards does no such thing. It’s disrespectful to PFAS contaminated communities who have suffered debilitating illnesses and devastating losses. This is a clear victory for the trillion dollar chemical industry–not public health. Americans need to call their members of congress immediately and demand action.”

Jennifer Rawlison of Newburgh Clean Water Project in Newburgh, NY: “This unjustified reversal of protections by the current administration is a slap in the face to millions of people across the nation in impacted communities like ours and most telling, ignores the findings of health & science agencies the government itself funded. Instead, we’ve an administration sanctifying corporate profits over people’s lives, which will result in the next generations having shorter, unhealthier lives than their parents and grandparents.”

Andrea Amico of Testing for Pease in Portsmouth, NH: “EPA’s announcement of rollbacks and delays to the PFAS MCLs will cause serious impacts to human health. Millions of Americans have been exposed to numerous PFAS for far too long and weakening the protections are a step in the wrong direction. The EPA needs to prioritize public health over the interests of big businesses and influential groups that put profits before people. We deserve better from the EPA and will continue to fiercely fight for the protections from PFAS that we all deserve.” 

Stel Bailey of Fight for Zero in Cocoa, FL: “The national regulations on PFAS have played a vital role in safeguarding Americans from drinking poisoned water. Any efforts to weaken these safeguards would directly oppose the values this administration claims to champion, especially concerning making America healthy again. This is not a move toward a healthier future. After decades of exposure, we cannot afford any further delays.”

Hope Grosse of Buxmont Coalition for Safe Water in Warminster, PA: “As a member of an impacted community who has lived a lifetime with PFAS exposure, I am alarmed and deeply fearful. The rollback of this critical law, after over a decade of scientific research and clear evidence of the deadly harm PFAS chemicals cause to human health, is not only reckless—it is heartbreaking. This decision flies in the face of the current administration’s promise to “Make America healthy.” Communities like mine have already paid the price with our health, our trust, and our future. We cannot afford to take a step backward now.” 

Joanne Stanton of Buxmont Coalition for Safer Water in Warminster, PA: “This announcement is a complete betrayal of public trust from the very same agency who proudly set this historic drinking water standard last year. The standard was deeply grounded in science to reduce PFAS exposure for an estimated 100 million people. A complete turn around that clearly shows politics over public health”.

Liz Rosenbaum & Mark Favors of Fountain Valley Clean Water Coalition in Fountain, CO: “Hearing Lee Zeldin, administrator of the EPA, state that there will be a rollback of PFAS MCLs is alarming. Weakening the drinking water standards will continue extreme harm to families and cause confusion about the concern for children. In the Fountain Valley communities, 5 military installations caused military members to become ill (again), this is not how we treat our troops! PFAS poisoning is comparable to Agent Orange, and it is forced onto everyone.” 

Cindy Boyle of Marinette, WI: “Today’s decision by the Trump EPA to undo science-based standards, which prioritized public health, will lead to more kidney cancer, more testicular cancer, more delayed childhood development, more neurotoxic damage and the list continues to grow with time and truth. The EPA has the fundamental role of identifying risk and enforcing safeguards for our water, this action places the public in grave harm while providing polluters the assurance that they have little concern for accountability.”

Ayesha Khan & Jaime Honkawa of Nantucket PFAS Action Group in Nantucket, MA: “Firefighters and their communities have already been exposed to PFAS for decades through foam and gear. They shouldn’t also have to worry about drinking contaminated water. Rolling back protections now denies us all the basic safety we have long been owed.” 

Tony Spaniola of Need Our Water (NOW) in Oscoda, MI: “The EPA’s proposed actions will make the drinking water of millions of people across the country less safe. Among the hardest hit will be members of the armed services and military communities, as the signature chemical in the military’s long-used firefighting foam, PFHxS, will be left completely unregulated.”

Cheryl Cail, Acting Chief, Waccamaw Indian People and of Idle No More SC in Myrtle Beach, SC: “The long-time suffering of communities impacted by PFAS contamination, enduring severe illnesses and loss, are seeing the broken promise to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ as the EPA sets its sights on repealing standards that would protect over 1 million people from this cancer and disease-causing contamination. Chemical companies and water utilities have unduly influenced the EPA to put profits over people. Contact your members of Congress to ask that they demand the EPA to stop this illegal reversal of previous EPA standards.”

Allison Jumper of Durham, NH: “PFAS in drinking water is dangerous to human health, the EPA was clear about this when it set new PFAS MCL standards in 2024.  By weakening these water standards and delaying compliance with these standards, preventable illness will occur.  There is no time left for delay in taking action to remove PFAS from the drinking water in this country.  It is time to stop prioritizing the profits of industry over public health, and time to stop poisoning the people of this country without their consent.”

Arnie Leriche of Wurtsmith Restoration Advisory Board in Oscoda, MI:  “Our children and communities have been significantly and knowingly exposed to PFAS chemicals for over 50 years by our own federal government and private chemical manufacturers. EPA must continue implanting CERCLA with NO delays, especially those current commitments and efforts to speed up remediation of PFAS contamination and hold polluters accountable! Therefore, we respectfully demand that our federal government fully support and fund the DoD’s Cleanup commitment to use the 2024 MCLs as they prioritize their CERCLA (Superfund) obligations.” 

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For Immediate Release – 1/22/24

NATIONAL – As communities across the country continue to discover contamination from per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the National PFAS Contamination Coalition criticized guidance released by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) for medical clinicians on PFAS exposure. Sandy Wynn Stelt, co-facilitator of the coalition expressed her concern with the updated medical guidance:

“It’s critical that doctors in our area are able to give proper treatment to everyone who has been exposed to PFAS, especially by recommending blood testing and medical monitoring. After working on this problem for years, we’re disappointed that this revised guidance fails to incorporate these established medical recommendations that could save lives.” 

Two key elements are missing from the revised guidance issued by ATSDR: recommending PFAS blood testing and medical monitoring guidance. Both of these recommendations were included in a report issued by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in July 2022 but are not included in the medical guidance issued by ATSDR.

The ATSDR last issued medical guidance for clinicians in 2019. The National PFAS Contamination Coalition (NPCC) spearheaded efforts to create and adopt guidance, resources and training for medical professionals on PFAS contamination and has pushed for updated medical guidance from ATSDR. Andrea Amico, from Testing for Pease expressed her concern:

“The stakes are too high to get this wrong. We’ve advocated strongly for years for updated medical guidance that follows the science,  will help inform providers, and provide guidance on how to monitor the health of those most impacted by PFAS exposure. I was disappointed to learn that the new ATSDR guidelines both omit key medical advice on this topic and fails to meet the needs of people exposed to PFAS. These guidelines fall far short of what’s needed.”

The Coalition questions the repeated failures of ATSDR to update medical guidance. NPCC Co-Facilator and Slingshot Co-Executive Director shared,

“What’s particularly frustrating is that ATSDR commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to create a report on PFAS exposure guidance. Key recommendations from that report weren’t included in this guidance. Why would they not include guidance in a report they paid for? Communities affected by this toxic exposure want answers.”

Jennifer Rawlison of Newburgh Clean Water Project added, “Exposed communities have not only sacrificed their time participating in this process, but also our emotional and spiritual energy. Our concerns have not been recognized or heard within these guidelines, which makes our engagement feel extractive at the end of the day.”  

PFAS refers to a family of over 12,000 human-made, largely unregulated chemicals that are nearly indestructible, and are highly mobile in air and water. PFAS remains in the body for years and is of concern because some are known developmental toxicants that have been linked to toxicity to the liver, immune and endocrine systems. PFAS are used widely to impart stain- and water-resistance to a variety of products including paper food packaging, textiles, cosmetics, and non-stick pans. PFAS are in 99% of American’s bodies, more than 80% of US waterways, and have been found in global rainwater at levels higher than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lifetime health advisory.  

In July 2022, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a report (Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up) intended to inform Centers for Disease Control (CDC) clinical guidance regarding PFAS testing and medical monitoring. The report set the first recommended clinical guidelines for PFAS blood concentrations and also identified disorders that have sufficient evidence linked to PFAS exposure. 

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