Comment submitted by Elena Haynes
AnonymousOpposeIndividual
Summary: The commenter, an individual, opposes the proposal to rescind the 2024 PFAS drinking water standards. They argue that the EPA has failed to provide new scientific evidence that these chemicals are safe and that the 2024 rule is necessary to protect public health and prevent serious illnesses.
I demand EPA rescind this proposal and maintain the standards set by 2024 rule. EPA is not citing any new scientific information demonstrating that these four PFAS no longer pose a threat to human health and the environment, and is instead claiming the 2024 rule misinterpreted the underlying statute. This is an unacceptable reason to rescind drinking water limits on "forever chemicals" that are found in nearly all Americans and are proven to have detrimental human health impacts such as cancer, hormone and immunity disruptions, and to harm child development. The impacts to public health do not disappear with the administrative rescission, but with proactive and aggressive actions such as the 2024 rulemaking. The 2024 standard stands to reduce PFAS exposure for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious illnesses. EPA fails to make a convincing argument that this action achieves its mission to protect human health and the environment. The agency has an obligation to retain the 2024 PFAS NPDWR and abandon this proposal.