The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday proposed classifying certain so-called "forever chemicals" — which are believed to have serious health effects, and can be found in hundreds of household items — as hazardous substances, CNN reports.
Though polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, will not be banned as a result, the proposed new designation is still "one the most significant actions the EPA has taken to date" in addressing the compounds, notes The New York Times.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The new EPA proposal would classify two commonly used PFAS — known as PFOA and PFOS — as hazardous substances under Superfund regulations, thereby making it easier for the government to mandate polluters pay fines for violations, as well as clean up their own hazards, CNN and The Washington Post report.
"Communities have suffered far too long from exposure to these forever chemicals," EPA administrator Michael Regan said. The new rule will "both help protect communities from PFAS pollution and seek to hold polluters accountable for their actions."
Activists have praised the new designation, but Republicans are concerned it unfairly burdens manufacturers and businesses, the Times notes.
Once the proposal is published in the federal register, the public will have 60 days to comment before the rule becomes final.
-
How are these Epstein files so damaging to Trump?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As Republicans and Democrats release dueling tranches of Epstein-related documents, the White House finds itself caught in a mess partially of its own making
-
Margaret Atwood’s memoir, intergenerational trauma and the fight to make spousal rape a crime: Welcome to November booksThe Week Recommends This month's new releases include ‘Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts’ by Margaret Atwood, ‘Cursed Daughters’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite and 'Without Consent' by Sarah Weinman
-
‘Tariffs are making daily life less affordable now’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
Kissing bug disease has a growing presence in the USThe explainer The disease has yielded a steady stream of cases in the last 10 years
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
