WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Monday that it will drop some limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water that officials had determined can cause cancer and other serious health problems — angering some key activists who had supported President Donald Trump’s campaign.
The Environmental Protection Agency said it would unravel the nation’s first federal drinking water limits for the compounds, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. The Biden administration established the limits on six of the substances in 2024, after the agency determined that long-term exposure to PFAS was linked to kidney cancer, immune system suppression, developmental delays in infants and children, and other issues.
Instead, the Trump administration will issue narrower regulations that rescind protections for four of the substances and continue to protect against two of them, though companies will be able to request two extra years to comply with those.
But the move, which had been planned for more than a year, has sparked fury within the Make America Healthy Again movement, a diverse group of anti-vaccine activists, wellness influencers and others who make up a key part of Trump’s coalition.
Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, sought to counter that anger by appearing Monday with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary who spearheaded the MAHA movement, and announcing nearly $1 billion to help states address the contaminants in drinking water.