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Lisa Friedman, who covers climate change, discussed the fight to regulate toxic chemicals found in nearly half of America’s tap water.
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Cookware. Dental floss. Shampoo.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, can be found in those items and hundreds of other household products. Nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they do not fully degrade, PFAS are resistant to heat, oil, grease and water. (One of the first uses of PFAS chemicals was as a nonstick agent in Teflon cookware in the 1940s.) But exposure to PFAS has been linked to cancer, liver damage and birth defects, among other health issues.
Worse, the chemicals have made their way into our showers, sinks and drinking glasses — a 2023 study detected PFAS in nearly half of the nation’s tap water. But there’s some good news: For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency is regulating PFAS. This month, the E.P.A. announced that it would require municipal water systems to remove six forever chemicals from tap water.
Lisa Friedman, a reporter on the Climate desk at The New York Times, wrote about the new rules. In a recent conversation, Ms. Friedman discussed the whirlwind month in climate news, what could stall the implementation of the regulations and how her beat has evolved over 15 years. This interview has been edited and condensed.
How significant is this moment?
This is a really big deal. The E.P.A. has finalized rules that will require some PFAS chemicals to be reduced to near-zero levels in our drinking water. But PFAS chemicals are hard to eliminate, and doing so will involve an expensive process. It will be a pretty big headache for water utility companies.
Last week, President Biden’s administration blocked a proposed industrial road in Alaska and announced plans to expand two national monuments in California. Is there a reason so much climate policy change is happening right now in the United States?
The regulations on PFAS in tap water were first proposed last year, but there’s an obscure law called the Congressional Review Act, which gives Congress at least 60 legislative days to overturn new rules issued by federal agencies. If Republicans take control of the Senate and Donald Trump wins the presidency, the rules could be easily overturned.