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Drinking water contamination<\/a> from these \u201cforever chemicals,\u201d so called because they do not break down easily, is widespread across the United States, according to research from the Environmental Working Group. EWG President Ken Cook called Wednesday\u2019s announcement \u201ca betrayal of public health at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n The EPA says it will keep just two limits in place, on perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), though it is extending a deadline for compliance. That means that water utilities now have until 2031 to reduce these chemicals in drinking water.<\/p>\n The EPA says it will not keep limits in place for four other chemicals: PFNA, PFHxS, GenX, and PFBS.<\/p>\n The dangers of PFAS have received increasing public attention in recent years, and Biden\u2019s EPA took several steps to begin to address them, including setting the first-ever limits in drinking water. During recent hearings, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has talked about how her mother, a Texas state legislator, is focused on the issue. \u201cShe was so stunned by what had happened to these farmers, specifically through PFAS contamination. It destroyed their lives,\u201d Rollins told Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) last week. The USDA, she said, is committed to supporting research on addressing PFAS contamination. (Link to this post<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n